By Annie Sadovsky Koepf
Photo credit to Britten Leigh
“If you are a lover of classic golden age musical theater, this version of Camelot will not disappoint.”
The curtain opens and a mythical figure, the wizard Merlin, appears onstage and the audience is transported to the fantasy world of Camelot, in the legendary time of King Arthur. The myth of the young boy who becomes a king by extruding the sword, Excalibur, from the stone, is a tale that has been told many times over and in various formats. This rendition of Camelot is a musical, written in the 1960’s by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. The story opens with Arthur’s soon the be Queen coming to Camelot to be married. When the two meet, there is shyness and innocence between them. When they realize who the other is, fondness and love begins to grow. They are married and life is perfect in Camelot. When Arthur decides to move away from warfare, he institutes the “code of chivalry” and the round table for the knights. It is an idyllic time, an era when all good things are possible, and nothing can deter this perfect world. Yet, as is the case in many stories, there is always some deviation from this ideal world, an inevitable conflict but eventual resolution. This story does not disappoint.
Camelot is often referenced to the Kennedy era in America. “Jackie” Kennedy coined it as such. She stated that the show’s original cast recording had been a favorite bedtime listen for her husband (who had been Lerner’s classmate at Harvard University). His favorite lines were in the final musical number: “Don’t let it be forgot/ That once there was a spot/ For one brief, shining moment/ That was known as Camelot”. She also made a direct comparison to the Camelot storyline, saying, “There’ll be great Presidents again… but there’ll never be another Camelot.” Looking back to that era now, we see it now as not as magical as Mrs. Kennedy had alluded to.
There recently was an updated version of Camelot by Aaron Sorkin on Broadway. As Camelot was written more than 60 years ago, some of the language and references seem dated to a modern audience. I have not seen the Sorkin version, but hopefully he addressed some of those issues that were apparent in this production.
Camelot is primarily a musical. Under the capable musical direction of Korby Myrick, the vocals were lovely, and each actor was a great match for their role vocally. Additionally, this production included singers of all levels, and I commended it for that.
It is wonderful to not listen to a track when seeing local productions, and the live band did a terrific job with the score. Yet, I found it distracting to see the band on the stage. The band was directly upstage center. The band placement provided a diversion from looking at just the actors. On the note of placement, I found at times the blocking direction by Gene Abrava to be a bit stiff. Often, the actors would be facing the audience rather than each other. I found it to be a breach of the illusion that had been created.
The acting ensemble did an admirable job with executing their roles. I was impressed with Cedric Hay, a wise and magical Merlin. Kevin Orduno very capably portrayed the rather unlikeable Mordred with snark and humor. Scott Seamen as King Arthur was wise, vulnerable and demonstrated strong acting choices even when singing his many solos. His emotion and vulnerability were palpable. Caroline Murphy as Guenevere was a lovely queen, but also portrayed the conflict and dilemma that her character encounters. Lancelot, portrayed by Matt Milne, was arrogant and egocentric as only that character can be. Fortunately, he does show some grace at times. The young performer, Eowyn Ralston, was captivating as the Page, and I am certain that we will see this upcomer in many future shows. The ensemble provided great singing and acting work throughout the production.
Stage Foundation Theater deserves kudos for assembling such a great lineup of local talent for all aspects of this production. Several wonderful artists helped with the technical aspects of the show. The costumes were terrific. They were effective and true to the period. The large projection screen was a great addition. It really created the illusion of being in the world of Camelot. The sound system sounded great in the large venue, however, after seeing Stage Foundation Theatre’s, Man of La Mancha last summer at St. Francis in the Foothills I think the intimacy of that theater space, and the staging in the round would have suited this production better than the Proscenium Theater at Pima Community College, especially because of the audience turnout.
If you are a lover of classic golden age musical theater, this version of Camelot will not disappoint. I enjoyed every moment, and I am sure that everyone from ages 8 and up will as well. If only life truly could be as magical as Camelot appears to have been.
The show runs from March 15th-24th, Friday and Saturday at 7pm and Sunday Matinee at 2pm, at Pima Community College Centre for the Arts on 2202 West Anklam Road. General admission is $35. Buy your tickets at https://www.stagefoundationtheater.org.