Arts

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RICHARD HARRIS brings King Arthur alive.

By DAWN BURKE

Harris, as the legendary
king in Camelot, commands
the stage like the veteran ac-
tor he is.

"And Camelot is a success
because Harris, as director,
knows cnough to surround
the lead actor with equally
talented supporting players.

The result is Camelot, a
play that brings to life
legendary place and
magical time.

a
a

Camelot,
Loewe musical,
history of success in

theatre.
White's

the Lerner &
has a long
the
Based on T.H.
The Once and

Future King, Camelot tells

the tale

of Arthur, his

beautiful queen Guenevere,

and his
Lancelot.

trusted friend
It's a story of a

ANSGAR

young boy destined to
become King of England and
the tragedy that ensues when
love rears its beautiful,
deceitful head.

Without Harris,
would be a delightful
tuusical. With Harris, the
play becomes a showcase for
the actor's talents. He is Ar-
thur.

Seemingly without effort,
Harris is the shy, new king,
nicknamed Wart, trying
clumsily to woo Guenevere,

Camelot

without her knowing who he
is. Harris is Arthur in his
prime, a confident king with
grand plans of around
table, a code of honor, a
gentler life. And Harris is
the old Arthur. An Arthur
who has lost his beloved
Ginny and his friend
Lancelot, an Arthur waiting
for an attack from his
misbegotten offspring Mor-
dred, au Arthur who
agonizes, ‘Merlyn, why did
you teach me to think?"

47 - Friday, August 2, 1985 - North S

Sink
into
seafood -
PAGE 48

Well staged by Harris, the
play moves along briskly
featuring an adroit suppor-
ting cast and chorus. Martha
Traverse as Guenevere sings
the part beautifully but
lapses into melodrama, a
forgiveable sin in this par-
ticular part. Chip Hud-
dleston as Lancelot is again,
a great singer, but the fake
French accent detracts from
his characterization.

But Huddleston gives a
solid performance as
Lancelot, who metamor-
phoses from a_ puritanical
robot to a man torn between
love and loyalty.

The play was nearly stolen
from Harris by James
Valentine, in the dual role of
Merlyn/Pellinore. Valentine
as Pellinore is a delight.
Hamming it up, bantering
with Harris’ Arthur, overac-
ting terribly, he has a great

re News

ovation at play’s end.

Costumes and sets are
what you would expect from
a successful Broadway
musical taken on the road.
The sets are deceivingly sim-
ple: the stage is an enchanted
forest, a jousting ground,
the hall of a castle. And the
costumes are perfect, right
down to the obvious contrast
between Lancelot's shiny
suit of armor and Arthur’s
well-worn tarnished one.

Camelot is a great even-
ing’s entertainment despite
the sometimes muffled
sound in the Queen
Elizabeth Theatre.

Camelot is most definitely
Harris’ baby. He is the best
actor on the stage and the
most commanding presence.
Harris, 51, is an actor meant
for the stage and he has no
trouble bringing Arthur to
life.

time in the role but the au-
dience has an even better
time. Next to Harris, Valen-
tine received the greatest

Camelot is playing at the
Queen Elizabeth Theatre un-
til Sunday.

CITY WIDE
CASINO
BSOQ AND DANCE |

All your favorite games, plus Bingo!
proceeds to SHRINERS FOR CRIPPLED
CHILDREN and JUNIOR TENNIS.

TIME: 7:00 - 1:00 a.m.

Cover Charge
Only $2.00

~~ NEWS photo fan Smith

RICHARD HARRIS and Martha Traverse as Arthur and Guenevere give strong performances in Camelot. The long-running
Lerner and Loewe musical is at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre until Sunday. The musical tells of life at the time of the Knights

of the Round Table.

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