#westportplayhouse

Camelot: a fresh adaptation of the classic musical at Westport Country Playhouse

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The legendary musical “Camelot” featuring Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard is currently being staged at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport Ct.  The musical is based on the novel “The Once and Future King”by  T.H. White, which retells the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.  The musical Camelot which opened on Broadway in 1960 and written by Lerner and Lowe starred Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet.   It was the recipient of four Tony Awards.

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The story involves King Arthur of England and his ascent to the throne.  There he wants to create a new society of men, where differences are not settled by battle and war, but by courts of law.  He wants to bring peace to the land and creates a brotherhood of Knights whose mission it is not to bring war but to spread out and do good and noble deeds. Camelot is born and with it is the idealism of a better world.  It is in this setting that King Arthur meets and weds Guinevere,  and later is joined by Sir Lancelot.  It is this relationship that becomes a love triangle and threatens the very foundation of Camelot.

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The current production is a fresh and innovative look at the classic musical.  The entire production has been streamlined from the original and the story moves along easily during the 2 hour performance.  I have seen other productions of Camelot which are heavier and slower paced.  This production seems lighter, fresh and breathes new life into this classic.  Almost all the Lerner and Lowe songs are present in the production.  As part of the thinning of  the story, some of the better known characters such as Merlin are absent.

The performances by the actors are superb!  Robert Sean Leonard as King Arthur is magnificent and it is no wonder he is the recipient of several Tony nominations  and a Tony Award.  He brings a bounty of emotion to the role which was felt by the audience especially at the end of Act 2.    Britney Coleman is delightful as Guinevere, as her acting and amazing vocal talents light up the stage.    Excellent performances were also given by the rest of the cast including Stephen Mark Lukas as Lancelot and Patrick Andrews as Mordred.   A wonderful job by David Lee who adapted the book, and Mark Lamos for his direction.  The cast was greeted by an enthusiastic standing ovation at the conclusion of the performance.

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Performances run through November 5th 2016.

for tickets and more information including videos:

http://www.westportplayhouse.org/

Westport Playhouse

25 Powers Court Westport Ct

 

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“What The Butler Saw”, a hysterical British comedy at Westport Playhouse

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“What the Butler Saw” is now playing at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport Ct.  This historic theater which opened over 80 years ago has  hosted to a long list of amazing theatrical talent. Among the actors to grace the stage here over the years are Jane Fonda, Gene Wilder, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Powell, Jerry Stiller and Paul Newman just to name a few.

The current production is a comedy written by Joe Orton back in the 1960s.  It is a classic British farce and the laughs are plentiful as the play(under 2 hours) really moves along.   It addresses such topics as marriage, infidelity, mental health, gender roles and gender definition, and of course the changing opinion of who in the cast is sane or insane.

The story is set in Britain in the office of a Doctor at a psychiatric clinic.  Dr. Prentice (Robert Stanton) interviews a young woman, Geraldine Barclay (Sarah Manton) who is seeking a job as his secretary.  His motives are quite clear wants to seduce the young woman and nearly does so when his nymphomaniac wife, Mrs. Prentice (Patricia Kalember) enters his office and the entire story goes quite mad from here. The audience has to hold on as we learn Mrs. Prentice is being blackmailed by a hotel bell hop (Chris Ghaffari) .The arrival of Dr Rance (brilliantly played by Paxton Whitehead) really shakes things up.  He is a psychiatrist sent by the British Government to inspect the clinic.  His arrival further turns the story on his head with his crazy misdiagnoses of everyone including Dr. Prentice.

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There is mistaken identity, false accusations and the local police (Julian Gamble) are involved try to resolve the whole mess.  The comedic timing of the actors is flawless. Direction by John Tillinger is fantastic and the cast really works together well.  Set design of the clinic office and its numerous doors (which are put to comedic use as the actors us them to great effect) is well done.

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The actors have a long list of impressive credentials.  Paxton Whitehead has made numerous appearances on Broadway  including, “My Fair Lady” , and many television and movie appearances including “Back to School” with Rodney Dangerfield.   Patricia Kalember has numerous Broadway and stage credits.  She has appeared in films and in television shows such as “Sisters” “Orange is the New Black” , “Law and Order” and many more. The whole cast is wonderful and the audience really enjoyed the performance.

“What the Butler Saw” has adult theme as is not suitable for children.

Don’t miss this hysterical comedy!

For tickets, show times and more information:

http://www.westportplayhouse.org/

Westport Country Playhouse

25 Powers Court  Westport Ct.

 

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