Camelot opens this Friday July 11!

“In short, there’s simply not, a more congenial spot…” than TriArts production of Camelot!

The Eternal Triangle: King Arthur (Al Bundonis*),
Guenevere (Kelly Strandemo) and Sir Lancelot (Michael Padgett*)
* appearing courtesy of Actor's Equity Association
Photo credit: Randy O'Rourke

Camelot opens at TriArts this Friday, July 11th at 8PM and runs for 2 weeks only. Lerner and Loewe’s classic musical, Camelot is the story of King Arthur, Guenevere and the legends of the Round Table. This timeless masterpiece features the lush fullness of the TriArts orchestra, complete with 13 musicians on stage,including a French horn and a string section!

The director is Joel Brehm, Cheryl Swift is choreographing, with Joshua Stone music directing.  Equity actors Al Bundonis and Michael Padgett play King Arthur and Sir Lancelot, respectively.  Mr. Bundonis was last seen in TriArts’ production of Annie Get Your Gun. Said Mr. Bundonis, “I am looking forward to trading in my cowboy boots for tights and a crown!” Other cast members include Kelly Strandemo as Guenevere, Michael Baldwin at Mordred and Duane Estes as Merlyn.

Sponsored by Prindle Insurance, Salisbury Bank & Trust, Sotheby’s International Realty

Camelot: The Majestic Theater Was Well-Named That Night

December 3, 1960.  Onstage was that sexy, handsome handful, Richard Burton, being introduced to a waiting world…and to Elizabeth Taylor. Onstage with Burton were the soaring voices of Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet.

The Majestic Theater was well-named that night. The Camelot score, it was universally agreed, was pure magic, and there were many moments of enchantment.

When America got to see the star power on that stage soon after, via The Ed Sullivan Show on TV, the box office came alive. Later, it would be Walt Disney’s appreciation of Julie Andrews in Camelot that convinced him he wanted her for Mary Poppins.

Camelot’s fame was to be given a poignant dimension too soon after. A week after President Kennedy’s death, historian Theodore H. White sat with Jacqueline Kennedy in Hyannis Port, and she said this:
               
“At night, before we’d go to sleep, Jack liked to play some records; and the song he loved most came at the very end of this record. The lines he loved to hear were: ‘Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment, that was known as Camelot.’”

Camelot lyricist Alan J. Lerner was shocked when he heard that. He had gone to school with Jack Kennedy, had even produced events for him, but was unaware that the President had such affection for the show, which he saw as a symbol of his administration. “God knows I would have preferred that history had not become my collaborator,” Lerner later wrote.    

Camelot was one of the last theatrical creations of the ingenius team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe (Brigadoon, Paint Your Wagon, My Fair Lady), and was staged by the legendary Moss Hart.

TriArts Big Band Concert
One Night Only!
Tuesday July 15 at 7pm

TriArts’ annual Big Band concert is coming right up, for one night only, Tuesday, July 15th at 7pm on the main stage.  Rich Conley and the TriArts 17-piece Big Band, will be playing the music of Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and more in a tribute called “Swing to Sing”. Featuring Mark Raisch, you’ll be tapping your toes to the song stylings of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, Helen Forrest and others.  Glenda Lauten, who just starred as “Jeanette” the accompanist in The Full Monty, to critical acclaim, and Sarah Combs, who is directing the upcoming show Aida will also be performing.

Whether you want to take a nostalgic walk down Memory Lane, or experience for the first time the joy that is Big Band music, this is your one opportunity this summer to see a 17-piece orchestra on the TriArts stage!

Sponsored by AM1020/WHDD, Riley’s Furniture, Robinson Leech Real Estate.

Ticket prices are $27 for standard and $37 for premium for this concert.