REVIEW: The Camelot of Your Dreams, Onstage Now at Barrington Stage Co.
Through 07/19 @ Boyd-Quinson Theater, Pittsfield
Photos by Daniel Rader
“The four leads: Ken Wulf Clark as Arthur, Ali Ewolt as Guenevere, Emmett O’Hanlon as Lancelot and the esteemed Shakespeare scholar Dakin Matthews as Pellinore are perfect. Their performances are unimpeachable and provide more than enough interest for a day at the theatre.”
Barrington Stage Company is producing the Camelot of your dreams right now. You could not hope to see a better production of this troubled musical. The story of a cuckolded husband, his best friend and his wife in the seat of medieval power, played with golden age showtunes, has never looked or sounded better.
Camelot came hard on the heels of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's massive success with My Fair Lady but even with that show’s breakout star, Julie Andrews, and the biggest boldface name movie star of the time, Richard Burton, it struggled at the box office until the show was featured on The Ed Sullivan show in 1961. It then went on to win four Tony Awards.
The tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, taken from T.H. White’s 1958 “The Once and Future King,” form the basis of the 1960 musical. The musical also benefited from a Life magazine interview with Jackie Kennedy where she recalled that she and her husband, President Kennedy, would often listen to the cast recording and that he loved to quote his favorite lyric, “Don’t let it be forgot that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.”
All of this—the source material, Ed Sullivan, The Kennedy White House—has nothing to do with what’s actually onstage, which is a very weak love triangle and a cartoonish antagonist who literally pops up after intermission.
This production is based on director Alan Paul’s multi-award winning production at his previous Artistic Directorship at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. There is purportedly an emphasis on democracy that somehow eluded me. There are no other knights than Lancelot, there are no scenes showing life in Arthurian England, nor how his administration made life better. The commitment to ideals is only spoken about. If politics are the mechanism that guides how we live together, we have no idea how this was democratic.
BUT what there is, is choice! The four leads: Ken Wulf Clark as Arthur, Ali Ewolt as Guenevere, Emmett O’Hanlon as Lancelot and the esteemed Shakespeare scholar Dakin Matthews as Pellinore are perfect. Their performances are unimpeachable and provide more than enough interest for a day at the theatre.
At the opening of the musical, doubtful Arthur is discovered up a shaky tree where he and the bumbling Pellinore, who is chasing the Questing Beast lest he die alone, have a philosophical scene. This brings the old man into Arthur and Guenevere’s castle, where he will remain until the end of the show. It is the most nuanced, varied relationship in the musical.
Ali Ewoldt is enchanting with “The Simple Joys of Maidenhood” and is thoroughly convincing as the inspiration for two men’s lifelong devotion.
Emmett O’Hanlon is otherworldly as Lancelot. He is alternately sly, dim and guilelessly charming in “C’est Moi.” He is a dim bulb whose heart burns bright and his “If Ever I Would Leave You” is incandescent. Three minutes of pure, tender joy. And then he has a scene with his shirt off and thrills with his sword fighting (Fight Choreographer is Ryan Winkles). If the Marvel Cinematic Universe is thinking of a musical, O’Hanlon would be a perfect fit.
Danny Kornfeld takes a big bite out of the scenery as Mordred. He has the thickest Scottish brogue, a delight in his nasty disposition and a toaster jump out of the orchestra pit after intermission to introduce himself. He throws himself into the cartoonish “Fie on Goodness” which reminded me of a villain’s motivations from a Christmas special—he’s the Heat Miser. I think Kornfeld is massively talented, but the part itself is ridiculous.
The minimal, attractive set by Lee Savage of beautiful wood has many doors and sliding panels to help change the scene effectively. The jousting scene is played from two balconies facing each other upstage. Lighting design by Christopher Akerlind.
The costumes are outrageously beautiful and deserve an exhibit of their own. They were originally designed by Ana Kuzmanić and Lia Wallfish did the remount design. They are filled with vibrant colors, rich and luxurious fabrics and striking modern patterns and fittings. They are strikingly beautiful and make a strong case for Camelot being the fashion capital of the future.
While the fairy tale alone has never really found its footing, there are a couple of strong show tunes (“I Loved You Once in Silence” is another gem) with music direction by Darren R. Cohen that, combined with the magnificent company, make it worth your while.
Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot is at Barrington Stage Company through 7/19. Tickets: https://barringtonstageco.org/
