Swords, Kings, and Queens, Oh My!

Our REALEMN crew took the opportunity to check out Lincoln Center’s Camelot during this past week’s Spring Road Conference, and oh my, were we in for a treat! Director Bartlett B. Sher assembles a stellar team to bring this classic musical back to the Broadway stage!

The throwback musical, Camelot, is based on the old tale of King Arthur, and the book “The Once and Future King” by T.H. White. Original music is by Frederick Loewe with the original book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner while the book for the revival is by Academy and Emmy award-winning Adam Sorkin.

The musical starts with a young King Arthur, distraught and dismayed by his moral duty of having to marry and make Queen, a woman he, at first has no romantic interest in. He ironically bumps into his Queen to be, Guenevere whom he quickly finds out is also on the run with no interest in marrying him either! Together, they make a pact for both of their sake to follow through with this arrangement to marry and perhaps, even live happily ever after. Of course, that plan does not go as expected and we are taken on a ride to see Arthur and Guenevere struggle with their moral obligations, their individual secrets and passions, and the undeniable love they have for one another.

Camelot consists of an all-star cast including Andrew Burnap as King Arthur, Philippa Soo as Guenevere, and most recently Tony Award-nominated, Jordan Donica as Lancelot. The star-studded cast doesn’t stop there with the ensemble including Fergie Phillipe as Sir Sagramore, Danny Wolohan as Sir Lionel, a Anthony Michael Lopez as Sir Dinadian, and Dankin Matthews who does double duty in the roles of Merlyn and Pellimore. Each actor’s performance befits them and befits the roles they play in this classic musical! A special shout-out also goes to the young Camden Mckinnon who plays Tom of Warrick in a heartwarming moment towards the end of the show.

I thoroughly enjoyed the simple yet solid scenic design by Michael Yeargan and the orchestration by Robert Russell Bennett and Philip J. Lang. The lighting design by Lap Chi Chu also aided in setting the mood for this dark, medieval-period performance.

While we know the real royal family has been under scrutiny in the media and generally going through some things, henny! (Shout out to Megan Markle and Princess Diana) this musical in many ways speaks to the previous criticisms of royalty while keeping a particular currency today’s audience can understand and relate to when it comes to those with power.

Shout-out to the whole squad, y’all did that! If you want a nice little classic musical, with an updated take and stellar cast, don’t “fie on goodness” and go see this show, y’all!