THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 25, 1995 TAG: 9502250203
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Lerner and Loewe love length.
Their most famous products - ``My Fair Lady'' and ``Camelot'' - run for more than three hours.
That's a long haul, so you better love the product. The Gallery Theatre in Ahoskie is offering ``Camelot,'' which continues tonight and Sunday afternoon.
The best thing about it, and few will argue with this, is the music. And the best thing about the Gallery offering is John Darin Mize's version of ``If Ever I Would Leave You.''
Taking that a step further, his interpretation of Sir Lancelot is the play's highlight.
Lance, if you remember your Arthurian legend, is a man's man on a steady ego trip, an early version of Macho Man. He sings about it in ``C'est Moi.''
Mize has him down pat - swaggering, strutting, swordplaying perfectly and energetically. Add to that a French accent, a rich voice and you have the ideal Lancelot.
Emily Jernigan is the ideal Guenevere, lovely to look at, moving about like the very feminine thing she is.
No wonder Lancelot has the hots for her. Ah-h-h, but she is the bride of King Arthur, the most decent, most naive monarch who ever reigned.
Michael Hewitt plays him low-key, at times making him look like a wimp.
The eternal triangle is one of literature's most overused plots, and ``Camelot'' takes a long time to work it all out.
Meanwhile, the plot thickens as Arthur's illegitimate son turns up, an obnoxious little jerk who wants his dad's job as reigning monarch.
Cecil Allen Rascoe Jr. is a scene-stealer as Mordred, the guy you love to hate.
All of these characters run in and out of Camelot, a fairy-tale land with an enchanted forest, unicorns, magicians, fairy queens and an excellent climate.
Sandwiched between all those things is the music, a mix of lovely ballads, songs that tell a tale, and humorous ditties.
It's all very enjoyable but, too often, it moves too slowly.
One thing that livens it up is the excellent chorus singing lustily, energetically, clearly.
Credit, also, to the folks involved in costuming. Those sew-and-sews came up with some very colorful garb.
The sets are satisfactory, although some of the backdrops look like they need ironing. The sky is not falling, but it is wrinkled.
Most of the members of the large cast acquit themselves well. All of the characters contrast each other very clearly and that makes them interesting.
Interesting enough for three hours? Yeah, why not?
Besides, the music is wonderful. ILLUSTRATION: FRANK ROBERTS photo
Michael Hewitt is King Arthur and Emily Jernigan is Guinevere in the
Gallery Theatre production of Lerner and Loewe's ``Camelot'' that's
playing in Ahoskie tonight and Sunday.
by CNB