When one thinks of King Arthur, dueling and damsels, rather than singing and dancing, are among the first things that come to mind. Immortalized as old texts, a bedtime story and even a Disney animated cartoon, the Knights of the Round Table meet the stage in the musical Camelot . Under the direction of Molly Smith, Arena Stage modernizes this age-old tale by emphasizing the visuals and line delivery with a cross-cultural theme.
Upon walking into the Fichandler Theater, fittingly, a theater-in-the-round, the audience is met with a forest of golden leaves. A starry spotlight focuses center stage on the famous sword, set in a large stone. Arthur, played by Steven Skybell, descends from the audience to remove the sword, becoming King.
The original mood is carefree. Young Arthur sings joyfully with his friend and protector, the wizard Merlyn, played by J. Fred Shiffman. Then, the moment he sees her, Arthur falls in love with the beautiful Guinevere, an unfortunately obnoxious Kate Sauber. Her boundless energy, especially at the show’s start, strikes the audience as annoying, rather than appropriate.
Despite an ominous warning from Merlyn that Arthur beware the evil Mordred, things continue well for the king. With help of his Guinevere, whom he now calls Genny, he develops a dream of goodness and fairness for England: the Knights of the Round Table. They share a goal of good for all, and Arthur imagines a “civilized kingdom” where knights used their “might for right.”
The most charismatic of these knights is cocky Lancelot, played by Matt Bogard, the cast’s best singer, dancer, and actor. Bogard succeeds in the difficult task of charming the audience even though he wrongs the hero. With some of the tackiest lines and most annoying songs in the show, this is no small task. Bogard delivers even the most ridiculous lines in way that makes them believable and funny.
Skinny, pale, and dressed in black rubber-like armor, Mordred contrasts everything about the richly colorful, velvet and golden Camelot. Making Mordred lackluster and wimpy, rather than evil, Ferver’s performance is disappointing.
Mordred’s treachery and Arthur’s learning of Lancelot and Genny’s affair put the king’s life and the order of knights in shambles. At the end of the play, Arthur is left alone and in despair, until a young boy though comes to him wishing to become a knight. His hope is restored, he joins Genny and Lancelot for one last refrain, singing “Don’t let it be forgot / That once there was a spot / for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.”
Director Molly Smith draws on the theme of unity through multiculturalism by differentiating the knights as being different regions of the globe. Despite this fact, the cast is predominantly white. This cross-cultural reliance does enhance the costumes, which represent not only older styles of dress but also modern colors and styles.
Unlike the rich costumes, the character’s accents detract from the play because the actors, Genny in particular, are inconsistent with their accents. While undoubtedly one of the stronger singers in the cast, Suber can not use her voice to make up for her overacting or horribly inconsistent accent. Is she Irish, Scottish, British, or just American with a lisp? With her, the audience can never tell, a fatal flaw.
Skybell’s succeeds in the demanding combination of singing, dancing, and acting, although not with the charisma of Richard Burton, who played Arthur on Broadway and in the film version.
Carried by Bogard and its wonderful direction, choreography, costumes, and set, Camelot makes up for its many bumps along the way. The audience is left hopeful and satisfied, surely never to forget, “the one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot.”
