Through Sun 12/17
Ohio Shakespeare Festival, long revered for its Shakespearean comedies and tragedies, is broadening its repertoire and expanding its devoted audience by producing exceptional work year round.
The musical Camelot, based on the legend of King Arthur’s Court, originated as a smash hit in 1960. The musical’s prestige climbed with the rise of the popularity of the Kennedy presidency, which was often referred to as the “Camelot Era” due to the late president’s love of the soundtrack and play.
The current production by the Ohio Shakespeare Festival is the company’s first musical staged in its new year-round theater in Greystone Hall. The timing of this production and its themes of equality and freedom of speech (providing everyone at King Author’s table a seat of equal status), as well as the King’s reverence for Queen Guinevere’s feminine emancipation and expression, make King Arthur an especially modern protagonist.
King Arthur is played with exceptional wit and sagacity by Andrew Cruse and Guinevere by a newcomer to Ohio Shakespeare’s ensemble, Natalie Green. She is an incredible talent with a marvelous voice, whose rendition of “The Lusty Month of May” had the audience cheering ecstatically. Cruse and Green make a sensational couple with genuine chemistry. Joe Pine as Lancelot bursts onto the stage and leaves behind a beautiful and memorable performance; his rendition of “If Ever I Would Leave You” was lovely and left audiences teary-eyed.
The play opens with Merlin, King Arthur’s cunning and droll mentor (portrayed Pete Robinson), as a narrator who conjures impressive special effects and sorcery to tell the tale of how King Arthur came of age and transitioned from gullible student to revered monarch who weds his beloved Guinevere. Katie Zarecki deserves great praise for her beautifully choreographed dance sequences using a talented troupe of elegant and skilled dancers. The fight scenes are just as laudable and lend clever variance to the play’s overall tone as directed by Ryan Zarecki. These scenes are exciting and create a dashing tonality for the mighty knights of the roundtable and Sir Lancelot. The whole cast and ensemble are superb. Costume designer Marty LaConte and his team (Kelsey Tomlinson and Nancy Humes) make this period musical as exciting to watch, as it is to listen to intently.
This production is splendidly produced and will appeal to younger audiences familiar with the legendary court of characters in Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House series, as well as anyone who loves the original soundtrack. This is the kind of musical that will be enjoyed by couples of every age for a date night as well as multigenerational families looking for a special holiday performance that will remain memorable for years.
[Written by Lisa Rene’ DeBenedictis]
Akron, OH 44308