| Very disappointed in the Shakespeare Theatre production of Lerner and Loewe's "Camelot" which earned a Washington Post rave from Peter Marks. No overture and this musical has a beautiful one. The set was so cheap, it looked as if a suburban basement dating from the 1950s was excavated and the wood paneling taken and installed on the stage. The costumes were not very period, just garish. There were drastic lyric edits to "What Do the Simple Folk Do?" and "Fie On Goodness," the latter as if it took place in a 1980s leather bar. Nick Fitzer as Lancelot comes off the very best among the three leads, very well sung, handsome and dashing. Ken Clark as Arthur is adequate. Alexandra Silber is a disaster all the way around. She had great difficulty keeping on pitch from the word go. She mistook bobbing her head up and down, and making faces especially in Act One, for acting. The vertical drop of knights costumes during "Guinevere" was not inspired but tacky. My seat mates sitting to my left did not enjoy the show, either, but there was one woman on the second row, far left, who gave a hyena style laugh almost non-stop throughout. Most audience members gave a standing ovation at the end, but not me and my seat mates to the left. This weekend I see "Carousel" and "Carmen Jones" and I am looking forward to that. |
