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‘Camelot’ @ Lawrenceville’s new Aurora
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW. Grade: B -
Merlin himself couldn’t have summoned a feat of magic as nifty as this.
After operating for years in a cavelike former hardware store in Duluth, Aurora Theatre has entered its “Camelot” phase.
With producing artistic director Anthony Rodriguez wearing King Arthur’s bejeweled crown and associate producer Ann-Carol Pence counting time backstage as musical director, the theater unveiled its opulently appointed $3.5 million space Saturday night in downtown Lawrenceville.
“I would like to welcome you to your new Aurora Theatre,” marketing director Al Stilo said in a brief but buoyant speech just seconds before the curtain went up on the Alan Jay Lerner-Frederick Loewe classic. “How do you like it?”
To be honest, sir, we like it very much.
Judging from this ambitious first production—which boasts an 18-member ensemble, an eight-piece orchestra and a new degree of design elegance—the Aurora is off to a bright and shining beginning in its handsome castle.
The audience is sitting in the palm of its hands. What remains is for the chatty, hard-working Rodriguez and Pence to elevate their artistic product to a level of excellence that matches their remarkably successful approach to community-building. It’s up to this energetic, homespun bunch of thespians to give Gwinnett County a professional playhouse that can hold its own with the best in Atlanta.
Toward that end, director Freddie Ashley’s “Camelot” sets the stage nicely and tunefully. It’s a sturdy take on a somewhat stodgy show.
Though the Arthurian legend is a fusty affair that begs for a little fresh air, we’ll have to wait for that pre-Raphaelite makeover (Fiona Leonard’s costumes are standard-issue Elizabethan) or that radical new political gender-bender. (The betrayal of King Hillary, anyone?)
The good news is that Lerner and Loewe’s catchy songs have withstood the vagaries of time and fashion, and set designers Patrick Campbell and Geoffrey Brown offer a lovely background of soaring arches hung with tapestries — all lit to a sumptuous glow by Rob Dillard.
Among actors, Rodriguez plays the accidental king with the built-in vulnerability and melancholy pre-ordained by Merlin (Tony Brown). Marcie Millard’s Guenevere is earthy and endearing, though a little mismatched for statuesque Lancelot (Bradley Bergeron).
As the French knight and duplicitious friend of Arthur, Bergeron has a beautiful tenor voice and a commanding presence. He’s easily the best singer in the company and the sexiest leg of the love triangle, but the spark between this Lance and this Guen never quite ignites.
And even though Brandon O’Dell gets to wear the coolest tights and tunic in Camelot, he doesn’t seem to have the serpentine edge for the vicious Mordred. That said, Daniel Burnley makes for a perfectly crusty Pellinore. Ensemble member Ricardo Aponte lights up the room with his sunny smile and nimble footwork (he also doubles as choreographer). And Edward Sneed gives one singularly enchanting solo.
The thought of building a new theater and mounting a complicated first production at the same time makes the mind reel. Talk about a sword in a stone.
“Camelot” may not be a perfect offering, but it’s a well-intentioned and spirited adventure. Arthur didn’t ask to be king, and he was plagued by insecurities and self-doubt. But his ideals of peacemaking and fairness remain essential to this day.
And as for the new Aurora, it’s a theater fit for a king. As the song says: “There’s simply not a more congenial spot for happily-ever-aftering than here in Camelot.”
THE 411: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. 2:30 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays. Through June 24. $18-$25. Aurora Theatre, 128 Pike St., Lawrenceville. 770-476-7926; auroratheatre.com
THE VERDICT: A shining achievement.
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