WILMETTE, IL—This new production isn’t your grandmother’s, or even your mother’s, “Camelot.” For those who have seen previous revivals of the 1960 musical (starring Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, and Robert Goulet), or have watched the 1967 movie (with Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, and Franco Nero), this modern reincarnation of “Camelot” at the Music Theater Works in Wilmette may be a disappointment.
The lavish and colorful fairy tale original, which was filled with splendor and spectacle and featured a large cast of supporting singers and dancers, has been redone. But the new take on the old favorite has been so reduced that its glamor, power, and fantasy are gone; the swashbuckling pageantry is gone; Merlin, Arthur’s magical wizard, is gone; Morgan le Fay, the nasty enchantress, is gone; Nimue, the guardian of the Excalibur sword, is gone; and the confused King Pellinore and his dog are gone.
Unfortunately, the enchantment is also gone.
Too Little Wonder and Fantasy
The mythical story, based on the King Arthur legend and adapted by Alan Jay Lerner from T.H. White’s 1958 novel “The Once and Future King,” is still the spine of the production. The show about the king and knights of the Round Table unfolds through the eyes of a group of traveling characters.The lush romantic musical score composed by Frederick Loewe with lyrics by Lerner is still entrancing. But this “Camelot” has been cut so deep to the bone that, rather than coming across as a tale of wonder and fantasy, it comes across as limp and charmless.
Directed by Brianna Borger, the production has been stripped down with a focus on the minimum number of characters. The setting has also been changed from medieval England to an indistinct time and place. The backdrop is that of a cartoonish cardboard castle by set designer Ann Davis, which evokes none of the stunning imagery of the classic Broadway show, and the casual costumes by Martha Shurford suggest garb not from the Middle Ages, but from 1980s America.
Although the most haunting lyrical song, “Follow Me,” is gone (it was Merlin’s song), the remainder of the musical score still is very enjoyable as conducted by music director Linda Madonia, who leads an eight-member orchestra, with the addition of some nice vocalizations by the performers.
Golden-voiced Michael Metcalf is a believable King Arthur and does a fine job singing “Camelot” and “How to Handle a Woman,” and Christine Mayland Perkins comes through as a convincing Queen Guenevere. She sparkles when she opens the show singing about how she is being used to bring two countries together and will never know “The Simple Joys of Maidenhood,” and is exuberant with “The Lusty Month of May” and “Take Me to the Fair.”
While Nathe Rowbotham, as Sir Lancelot, turns in a good rendition of “If Ever I Would Leave You,” he doesn’t project the kind of conceit one expects of the arrogant knight who claims “C’est Moi.” We’re not convinced he’s from France or that he has full-of-himself confidence. And his supposedly passionate moments with Guenevere show little love or lust. Indeed, one is hard put to figure out what Guenevere sees in this unassuming Lancelot, and why she would have a secret affair with him.
The most compelling actor is Parker Guidry, who portrays Arthur’s villainous bastard son, Mordred. He belts out “The Seven Deadly Virtues” and “Fie on Goodness” with a terrific appeal to dark villainy. In addition, the swordplay, choreographed by Nick Sandys, is well done by the three knights: Hannah Mary Simpson as Dinadan, Sarah Patin as Sagramore, and Tommy Thurston as Lionel. Other than that trio, there isn’t much of an ensemble to suggest a lively town in which “the climate must be perfect all the year.”
If you like change for change’s sake, perhaps this revival will be to your liking. But if you loved the original “Camelot,” this production may not be for you.
Indeed, the director of the show seems to have forgotten what the signature song admonished: “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Camelot.” It looks as if, with this version of “Camelot,” that one shining moment has been forgot.
