There was a time when tables were round; strength was measured in compassion and chivalry was in season.
That time is long gone but for one brief thoroughly entertaining evening it came back Tuesday at Savannah Center in an enchanting performance of “Camelot.” The famed musical will be presented again at 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Watch video of the performance here:
Broadway’s Patrick Ryan Sullivan gave an acting and directing clinic in telling the tale of King Arthur, Guinevere and Sir Lancelot.
Sullivan played the befuddled and immature king, who acquires wisdom the hard way at the wrong end of a romantic triangle. Arthur must cope with Guinevere, a self-centered beauty, captured in all her coquettish glory by Laurie Arnold. And then there’s an all-too perfect but fallible amorous knight dubbed Lancelot, played with egotistical flair by the dashing Jerod Eggleston.
Put them all together with Lerner and Loewe’s masterful score and you have a love story for the ages.
“Above all else, this is a love story,” said Sullivan, who directed the play and earned a well-deserved standing ovation for his portrayal of Arthur.
But it’s also a story about personal evolution by three characters caught in a vortex of conflict, passion and idealism.
“Arthur is just being honest,” Sullivan said after a curtain call. “He’s a young king trying to find wisdom. “
“Camelot” is a struggle for the ideal, but reality keeps getting in the way.
“Arthur strives to be civilized, as he says in his speech, to live in a world ‘where violence is not strength’ and ‘compassion is not weakness,’” Sullivan said.
But real life doesn’t work out that way, and love, too often, can turn to hate.
That’s the message Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe deliver in the wonderful score. Sullivan set the tone with the opening number, “Camelot,” describing a place for “happy everaftering,” where the climate “must be perfect all year.”
Sullivan knelt down at the side of stage and seemed bemused as he gently sang, “How to Handle A Woman.” Then he teamed with Arnold on a delightful, “What Do the Simple Folk Do?” that ended with the pair waltzing around the stage.
Laurie Arnold has a captivating voice to go along with an alluring stage presence. She could be rowdy and suggestive on “The Lusty Month of May” or turn melancholy on “Before I Gaze At You Again.”
Jerod Eggleston had the real show stopper – as is usually the case in “Camelot” – offering a tender and emotional “If Ever I Would Leave You,” which opened the second act.
The three main players had plenty of help. Brian Minyard deftly played the dual roles of Merlin and a narrator, with young Edina Minyard performing the role of a child listening to the “Camelot” legend. Siwei Chen brought an operatic presence to the role of Nimue.
Maestro Bill Doherty played piano and directed the string orchestra which included, Lev Gurevich, Michele Gurevich, John Adams and Laurel Stanton.
Damian Summers was stage manager for this small, but powerful presentation.
“I think it had a real intimate atmosphere and I like that,” Arnold said after the show. “Camelot is a special and emotional musical.”
Although “Camelot,” has been associated with the early 1960s and President Kennedy’s time in office, Sullivan believes the music and meaning goes far beyond any time period.
At the end of the play, Arthur must reconcile not only his lost love, but also his leadership and what it will mean to future generations. He points to a child and says that child is the future. In his final idealistic speech, Arthur pleads for peace and understanding to make the world a better place for all children.
“Today, we live in a world where violence is strength and compassion is seen as weakness,” Sullivan said. “Arthur is saying we have to keep working to change that.”
