The Muny’s Camelot is a Stunning
Retelling of a Beloved Classic

by Pat Lindsey

The classic Lerner & Loewe’s tale of Camelot has been told and retold many times since 1960, but never quite the way you’ll see it at The Muny this week. The story still takes place in medieval merry old England with the wonderful score we know and love, but the characters, costumes, and stage sets are thoroughly modern.
The tale is rather simple. It’s a love story that ends in heartache with a glimmer of hope added at the end. King Arthur (Robert Petkoff) tells the story of how he met Guinevere (Shereen Pimentel), they fell in love, he developed the new order of Knights of the Round Table, and then the table cracked. The show opens with Arthur perched high in a tree, fretting about meeting his bride-to-be. When he sees a young maiden in the forest below him lamenting about her stolen youth and wondering where her joys of maidenhood are, he immediately becomes smitten. The two meet when Arthur suddenly falls out of the tree and startles Guinivere. And in the very next scene, they are married.
For a while, life in Camelot is perfectly magical. Then along comes dashing Lancelot (Brandon S. Chu), who Guinevere cannot resist, and a love triangle is formed. Guinevere and Lancelot betray Arthur in a secret affair that is made public by Mordred (Barrett Riggins). Like a crack in the armor, the civility and chivalry that all the king’s men and women worked so hard to achieve begins to fall apart.
Robert Petkoff as Arthur is an excellent storyteller and the most experienced actor in the cast. He is not a larger-than-life king, but then he’s not supposed to be. His queen, Quinevere (Pimentel), has a gorgeous voice that blends beautifully with the strong vocals of Lancelot (Chu). Neither of these actors resemble preconceived ideas of what their characters should look like, but they possess the voices that have made Lerner & Loewe’s songs beloved classics.
Tristan Raines deserves special recognition for costume design. Instead of dressing the king in heavy robes and tights, King Arthur wears a gold lame’ suit and tie for formal events. Guinevere wears pretty dresses and lingerie. The knights also wear sparkly suits and ties. The revelers (usually known as the ensemble) rock black leather and studs. At times, when they have set-changing duties, they wear ordinary street clothes. It all adds a youthful freshness to a show that is six decades old.
The music in Camelot is the element that should never be changed.

New orchestrations by Steve Orich are great, but the songs and lyrics must remain the originals. “If Ever I Would Leave You,” sung by Lancelot (Chu), is pure perfection. Many of the more whimsical songs such as, “The Lusty Month of May,” “I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight,” and “What Do the Simple Folk Do?” help tell the tale in their own marvelous ways. And nothing could signal an insurrection more aptly than the rousing “Fie on Goodness,” sung by Mordred (Riggins), Sir Dinadan (Evan Ruggiero), Ser Sagramore (Sarah Quinn Taylor), Sir Lionel (Daryl Tofa), and The Knights.
Artistic Director & Executive Producer Mike Isaacson and Director Matt Kunkel have managed to brainstorm a new vision for an old classic without losing the magic that has made Camelot “the most congenial spot for happily ever-aftering.” It’s the ultimate fairy tale.
   Camelot is being performed on The Muny stage in Forest Park now through June 28th at 8:15 nightly. For tickets, go to muny.org or call 314-534-1111.

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