STAGE REVIEW : CYPRESS COLLEGE BRINGS NEW LIFE TO ‘CAMELOT’

What befits a legend best? Proper reverence, of course, paired with a fresh approach that breathes new urgency into a familiar story, and Cypress College manages both in a magical revival of “Camelot.”

Lerner and Loewe’s musical reworking of the legend of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table offers an unlikely mixture of fantasy, humor and human frailty, and director Kaleta Brown has fashioned a production that nicely articulates each of the three elements. “Camelot” is sprinkled with wizards and forest sprites who capriciously bend the course of human history, so Brown and set designer Diana Polsky have created an enchanted (but uncluttered) world of cut-out forests, see-through scrims and castle walls that neatly frame the human story unfolding around them. The first-rate vocal work ensures that Alan Jay Lerner’s irreverent humor, often lodged in tongue-twisting lyrics, is made blissfully accessible through meticulous attention to enunciation. But the durability of this tale remains in the struggles of its mortals against the whims of fate, and the power of this production lies in the inspired lead performances that carve complex human beings from the legends.

Richard Iacovoni works some magic of his own as he convincingly shapes Arthur from awkward lad to benevolent monarch to shattered realist. It is a compelling portrayal, commanding enough assurance and gentle wisdom to be utterly convincing as a king, yet revealing a very human ruler.

Iacovoni’s Arthur has a worthy adversary in love in Maureen Bradley’s Guinevere. Bradley eases Guinevere through her transformation from spirited girlishness to regal adulthood, managing to make the queen’s frivolous moments just as effective as her solemn ones. Both performances are eminently sympathetic, making the collapse of Camelot all the more moving.

The chemistry sputters, however, between Guinevere and the brave Sir Lancelot, although not fatally. Joseph M. Collins makes Lancelot refreshingly credible, even investing him with a French accent; rather than playing an overbearing braggart, Collins sees Lancelot as a man consumed by his ideals and genuinely humbled by his own power and physical gifts. It is an affecting performance, enhanced by his silken version of “If Ever I Should Leave You.”

Howard R. Patterson as befuddled King Pellinore, James Taulli as the evil Mordred and Ryan Byrne as young Tom of Warwick contribute solid support, but the rest of the cast is markedly uneven. Happily, Brown never neglects the show’s sense of fun, filling in amusing detail and working with choreographer Cheryl Case to assemble production numbers that fill the wide stage of Cypress College Theater with ricocheting action.

“Camelot” will play in the Cypress College Theater, 9200 Valley View St., Cypress, through Sunday before moving to Pearson Park, 400 Harbor Blvd., Anaheim, June 7, 8, 13 and 14. For information, call the Cypress box office at (714) 821-2360 or the City of Anaheim at (714) 999-5191.