Kudos to McCoy-Rigby Productions for mounting this revival of the Lerner and
Lowe classic Camelot, an ambitious production which will embark on a major
national tour following the current La Mirada engagement.  This is an enjoyable
production with stellar turns from Broadway’s Rachel York and James Barbour.

York appears (naturally) and Guinevere, and she has never been more lovely or
more touching. That gorgeous voice is there, that statuesque beauty.  No
wonder she has become a star.  Matching her every step of the way is even more
statuesque James Barbour.  His recent roles here in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and
Lizard have proven his leading man chops and quite possibly the best baritone
around.  Here he is looser than usual, and therefore funnier and quite charming.

Cut songs have raised some controversy, but the restructuring of the show works.
Yes, I Loved You Once in Silence is missed because it's a beautiful song, but not
because it's needed. Fie on Goodness may advance the plot, but it's not a
famous enough song that the audience will say “Where was it?”  The show has
great period costumes (very different from the fairy tale look of the original).

And the supporting cast is filled with performers who have done outstanding
leading and ensemble work on our local stages. Stuart Ambrose, Robert J.
Townsend, Vincent Zamora, Venny Caranza, Jill Townsend and Joseph Sark are
particular favorites who are embarking on this tour. Ambrose, Townsend, and
Daniel Guzman are particularly fine as the trio of knights who vie for Guinevere’s
approval in an exciting jousting scene, amped up from the original for this
production.  In other supporting roles, Time Winters is a standout as Pellinore as is
Shannon Stoeke as the evil Mordred, whose The Seven Deadly Virtues has been
cut from this production as out of character.

Glen Casale’s direction is fine and Dan Mojica can always be depended on for his
choreography.  If this show has Broadway expectations, though, the sets will have
to be upgraded.

There's only one real problem with this production of Camelot, and that's its nearly
65 year old leading man. Richard Burton was 35 when he played Arthur on
Broadway. Richard Harris was 37 when the movie came out. Charming as York is,
he's simply too old to be a viable rival for tall robust Barbour. That being said, his
opening night acting was really quite good, thought as a singer he was not ready
for the press.

Despite this caveat, I can definitely recommend this show. And…if you happen
to see understudy Eric Anderson (a dazzling talent somewhat wasted in the role
of Merlin) as Arthur, you'll most likely see the show that this Camelot has the
potential of being.
JANUARY 13, 2007, LA MIRADA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, LA MIRADA.

--Steven Stanley

Note: (August 2007)  With Lou Diamond Phillips taking over the role of Arthur,
Guinevere will have a much harder time deciding whether to go off with Lancelot!