Date: Fri 26-Jun-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: JUDYC

Quick Words:

Camelot-Richter-Priscilla

Full Text:

(rev "Camelot" @Musicals at Richter)

Theatre Review--

Richter Opens With A Kennedy Favorite

(with cut)

By Julie Stern

DANBURY -- Once again, Musicals at Richter is offering knowledgeable area

residents the chance to picnic on the grass and then enjoy an outdoor

production of a famous musical performed in that cozy little space behind the

one of the best public golf courses in the state. This time the show is

Camelot , created by Lerner and Loewe (of My Fair Lady fame) from T.H. White's

vision of Arthurian legend, The Once and Future King .

Probably people are most familiar with the first segment of that saga, The

Sword in the Stone , which recounts the boyhood of Arthur as a young misfit

called "Wart." Under the protection and tutelage of the wizard Merlin, Arthur

is being groomed for the day when he will pull the magical Excalibur out of

the rock and so claim his rightful destiny as King of England.

Camelot deals with Arthur as an adult. The twin strands of its plot deal with

his struggle to bring his savage kingdom to a new level of civilization, and

the tragic affair between Arthur's beloved wife Guinevere, and his favorite

knight, Lancelot.

The time is 1138 AD, and Arthur has acquired the throne of a barbaric feudal

state, in which "might makes right" as those men wealthy enough to afford a

horse and armor ride about the countryside at will, "whacking" at each other,

while killing unprotected peasants and foot soldiers.

Drawing upon the values Merlin instilled in him, the young king invents the

Code of Chivalry, whereby the mighty knights are invited to sit with him as

equals, at a round table, but in return are sworn to abide by rules: they are

to use their weapons and their power only to do good deeds and to right

wrongs, protect the weak, and prove their courage by fighting evil.

This vision endears him to his saucy queen, who admires his responsibility and

leadership. It also attracts a variety of ambitious and daring knights who are

intrigued by the new concept and anxious to be members of the Round Table.

One of these is Lancelot, the greatest knight in all of France. Fearless in

battle, glorious to look at and seemingly pure of heart, the French knight

defeats all challengers on the jousting field.

However, despite his chivalric oath of loyalty to Arthur, Lancelot falls in

love with Guinevere, and she has enemies, and thereby hangs a very sad tale.

According to the playbill, costumes are provided by Dee and Don's Costume

Closet, and I can't remember ever seeing such a dramatic and exciting array of

clothing. Medieval pageantry is the essence of the show, and the changes in

scene are marked by having the entire company appear in distinctive variations

of a new color, going from virginal white to blue to green to scarlet to gold

and so forth, lavishly detailed and individually styled, so that it is like a

tour of a historical costume museum.

This is augmented by having the ensemble of knights, pages and ladies march in

stately processions across the stage, just as they would have in a real

medieval court. This happens a lot, since there are a lot of scenes. Thus,

Camelot is a good three hours long.

The problem is with the show itself, not the production. The pageantry is its

biggest playing card -- what cowboys are to Oklahoma! and sailors to South

Pacific -- but pageantry tends to be sonorous, and occasionally soporific.

As far as the production goes, it is graced with a group of excellent

performers. Priscilla Squiers, a veteran of many Richter musicals, is fine in

the pivotal role of Guinevere. She is well matched by David Roth as Arthur, a

fundamentally wise and decent man whose upbringing has made him both humble

and funny.

In contrast, Colm Keegan is fiery, intense, and utterly humorless as the

arrogant Lancelot. Christian Smythe is sinister and secretive as Mordred, and

Maura McNulty does a good job as Arthur's evil half sister, the witch Morgana

Le Fey.

It is interesting that this was John and Jackie Kennedy's favorite show, with

Camelot the vision of the beautiful society they hoped to bring to life in

their too short reign. If you know the show and like it, or if you enjoy

history and pageantry, or if you are into Arthurian legend, the people at

Richter, under the direction of George Vollano and Carl Anderson, do their

usual good stuff.

Camelot continues as the opening production of musicals at Richter's 14th

anniversary season through July 4. Performances are Friday through Sunday at

8:30 pm. For ticket information or reservations, call 748-MUSE (6873) .