THE YEAR IN THEATER: St. Paul Pioneer Press
by Dominic P. Papatola, Theater Critic
How does a dinner theater production of a warhorse make it into the Top 10? By making the old seem new. Director Michael Brindisi dug beneath all the musical theater clichés to find the shimmering truths and all the different levels of romance in the script and songs in a production that's still running out in Chanhassen.
He cast one of the best musical theater actresses in the area — Norah Long — to play Guenevere. He persuaded Steve Hendrickson, one of the best actors in town — period — to play King Arthur. He placed the action on a slightly menacing, windswept set by Nayna Ramey.
Most of all, he trusted that the story and its ideas were still resonant. He didn't trick the show up. He didn't overcompensate for its flaws. He simply dusted off "Camelot" and gave us hope – for one brief shining moment – that good ideas could still change the world."
[return to Camelot press page]
How does a dinner theater production of a warhorse make it into the Top 10? By making the old seem new. Director Michael Brindisi dug beneath all the musical theater clichés to find the shimmering truths and all the different levels of romance in the script and songs in a production that's still running out in Chanhassen.
He cast one of the best musical theater actresses in the area — Norah Long — to play Guenevere. He persuaded Steve Hendrickson, one of the best actors in town — period — to play King Arthur. He placed the action on a slightly menacing, windswept set by Nayna Ramey.
Most of all, he trusted that the story and its ideas were still resonant. He didn't trick the show up. He didn't overcompensate for its flaws. He simply dusted off "Camelot" and gave us hope – for one brief shining moment – that good ideas could still change the world."
[return to Camelot press page]
