The kicker line in the title tune of Lerner & Loewe's musical Camelot suggests there's no more congenial spot for happily-ever-aftering than the title castle.
The irony, of course, is that none of the principals live happily ever after.
Phoenix Entertainment's national tour production, which opened Friday night at the Maumelle Performing Arts Center under the aegis of Celebrity Attractions, has wonderful production values -- the set and gorgeous costumes are a nice mix of modern and medieval, and overall the show looks great.
And sounds great, at least when there's singing going on. The principals all have excellent voices and use them well. The five-piece pit band does yeoman service.
It's when the actors stop singing and start talking that the show falters a bit.
You know the story: King Arthur (Adam Grabau) has brought peace to a troubled land but more trouble lies ahead as his beautiful queen, Guenevere (Mary McNulty) also falls in love with his most trusted knight, Lancelot (Tim Rogan). That gives Mordred (Kasidy Devlin), Arthur's bastard son, a wedge to destroy the realm.
There's too much emphasis on non-British performers effecting British accents; the actors that don't have do to that -- Rogan, Devlin and young Ethan Haslauer, a fifth-grader at the Anthony School, in the small but pivotal role of Tom of Warwick -- fare much better. Especially Devlin, who absolutely eats up the role of the ambitious, amoral Mordred.
There will be additional performances at 2 and 8 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Performing Arts Center, 100 Victory Lane, Maumelle. (Ryan Allen, a fourth-grader at Pulaski Academy, will play Tom for the Saturday matinee.) Ticket information is available by calling (800) 982-2787 (ARTS) or (501) 244-8800 or online at ticketmaster.com.
The show also will be at Fayetteville's Walton Arts Center, 495 W. Dickson St., 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 21, and 2 p.m. Feb. 22. Ticket information is available by calling (479) 443-5600 or online at waltonartscenter.org.
Metro on 02/14/2015