The love triangle between King Arthur, his beautiful Queen Guenevere, and the brave knight Sir Lancelot is at the heart of a new intimate production of “Camelot” by Music Theater Works.
The classic by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music) runs from Oct. 20 to Nov. 13 at the North Shore Center for the performing Arts in Skokie. Performances are 1 p.m. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, plus 1 p.m. Oct. 20.
“They really stripped down the script to just be about that love triangle,” noted director Brianna Borger. “You’re not going to see Pellinore, you’re not going to see Merlyn, you don’t have Nimue. All of those characters are gone.”
Borger thinks that’s a good thing. “It lets us really get to the intimacy and the heart of these human relationships,” she said. “This version doesn’t lend itself to all of the pomp and circumstance that you usually see in a production of ‘Camelot.'” There are only nine actors in the cast.
Borger praised the focus of the show, noting, “We see Arthur as an everyman and Guenevere and Lancelot as people who we can really relate to,” she said.
Michael Metcalf of Elgin plays King Arthur. “I think that he is a very sensible, very down-to-earth individual,” Metcalf said. “He cares a lot for his country and his people, and he’s always trying to do the right thing. Like everyone, he questions himself.”
The actor said that he is drawn to his character’s “humanity.” For Metcalf, the challenge of the role is “trying to relate to this character who was thrust into royalty and now has the entirety of a country on his shoulders.”
Metcalf’s favorite song in the show is one he sings about his wife, Queen Guenevere, “How to Handle a Woman?”
Metcalf praised the scaled-down version of this production of “Camelot.” “We’re climbing the core of these people,” he said. “I think that’s going to be a really interesting journey.”
Playing the role of Arthur’s Queen Guenevere is Lake Forest native Christine Mayland Perkins. “She has a lot of admirable characteristics,” Perkins said. “She is clever and strong and loving.”
Nevertheless, she is also flawed, Perkins added — which makes playing Queen Guenevere particularly interesting for the actor.
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“I think it’s fascinating to play a character that has deep love for both people and is trying to navigate that experience,” Perkins explained.
The actor has several favorite songs but admitted that she’s particularly attached to “The Simple Joys of Maidenhood.”
Although this adaptation is shorter and more intimate than the original version, Perkins noted that it “retains its score which I think is part of what brings people back time and time again. This version allows people to focus on the individuals we’re rooting for and have the joy and pleasure of listening to that score.”
The third member of the love triangle, Sir Lancelot, is played by Nathe Rowbotham. “He’s a very focused individual,” Rowbotham said. “He knows what he wants. He has a very certain picture of the world. I don’t think it’s the world that he sees around him but he knows the kind of world that he wants to see. He’s a man of deeds, not a man of words.”
The actor, who uses the pronouns they and them, said the character is different from them because he is sure of what he wants. “It’s not the way I walk through the world,” Rowbotham said.
The biggest challenge of this role for the actor is the stage combat.
Rowbotham praised this adaptation for “bringing out the rich romantic storytelling that this show has.”
‘Camelot’
When: Oct. 20-Nov. 13
Where: Music Theater Works at North Shore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie, 9501 Skokie Blvd.
Tickets: $39-$106; half-price for ages 25 and younger
Information: 847-673-6300; musictheaterworks.com/Camelot
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.