For one brief shining moment...

The other night, I saw Camelot at Olney Theatre, and wow, I was blown away. SO good. I knew the basic story, of course, and knew some of the songs. Watching it, I realized that I was actually familiar with the entire first scene, since it was done for a Spotlight spring session once (if I recall, it was John Casiello and Kira Huberfeld as Arthur and Guenevere), but anyway. Even knowing the general story, I was still surprised by a few things.

Like, dude, Guenevere is quite the flirt! The humor of "The Simple Joys of Maidenhood" strikes me quite a bit more now than it did when I was 15, but she really lays it on pretty thick for some of those knights.

That being said, Guenevere and Lancelot falling in love seemed to happen awfully quickly. As in, one look after spending a good amount of time being at odds. I realize that that's fairly cliche, but most of the time, that sort of pairing has at least an intermediate phase between "I hate you and want you dead!" and "I love you!" Not that the actors didn't perform it fabulously, but...man. Fast.

Also interesting was the fact that Guenevere and Arthur didn't have children. It's never addressed, but it sort of underpins a lot of the action. The two are clearly pretty in love--and physically attracted to each other. (One of my thoughts had always been that Arthur is quite a bit older than Guenevere, and one of the things that leads her to Lancelot is that he's young and virile. At least, that's the impression I got from what I remember of First Knight. [I know, OK? Shut up.] But the age differential didn't seem to be that great, and it certainly didn't seem to affect how Guenevere felt about Arthur before Lancelot showed up.) But they've been married for 8 years when Lancelot shows up, which is a long time, particularly back then. And no kids. And that fact does set the stage (literally! /rim shot/) for the rest of the play, but it's never directly mentioned.

The show is quite a bit funnier than I thought it would be. I don't know why this surprises me; after all, Camelot is a silly place, but Arthur was pretty darn funny. To the point where I was all, "Dude, Guenevere, what are you doing? Arthur is AWESOME!" And not just funny. The play really does reflect today's society, with its refrain of "Might for right." Arthur had this one speech that made me want to elect him President.

My only real problem was that at times, it was hard to understand the singing. I didn't get a word of "The Lusty Month of May." I'm not sure whether it was that the orchestra was too loud. I was in the front row, and the house was far from full (sadly--seriously, folks, it's a great production!), which may have affected sound calibrations. But really, could not make it out.

Also, why does Lancelot have a sense of humor when we first meet him ("C'est Moi"), but no other time?

Overall, just a fabulous production. I adored the costumes. I might have a crush on Mordred, played by Evan Casey. I was particularly impressed by how much the cast put into the show. The house was small, which can completely suck the energy out of a show, but that wasn't the case at all. (I did try to clap loudly and laugh a lot when appropriately.) But everyone was so fantastic. I was frequently struck by how much Todd Alan Johnson actually looked like a king--particularly in profile. I can't explain why. But yeah, all great.

And the end just gets me. I remember at some point in my past reading the script and being moved by the end. So much more so actually seeing it. Sniff.

Now I have to go pull out The Sword in the Stone.