CAMELOT Concert Launches Palm Beach Dramaworks' Musical Theatre Masters Series, 1/11-13

Palm Beach Dramaworks, West Palm Beach's multi-award winning professional theatre (201 Clematis Street), has announced the premiere of an exciting new venture, the Musical Theatre Masters Series. Modeled after PBD's very popular Master Playwrights Series, the new series will kick off on January 11 at 8pm, with a concert of Camelot, the final Broadway musical from the team of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. The remaining performances are January 12 (2pm and 8pm), and January 13 (2pm). The series will be directed by Clive Cholerton, former artistic director of the Caldwell Theatre Company in Boca Raton. Musical director for Camelot is Caryl Fantel. All tickets are $35.00. Tickets go on sale on November 14.

Two additional shows, to be determined, will be presented in the summer, when the series will expand to two segments: a lecture on the lives and careers of the artists who created the show and, on separate days, a presentation of the musical in concert.

"As we continue to grow, we think it's important to add a musical component to our theatre," says PBD Producing Artistic Director William Hayes. "We want to offer our devoted audience as many options as we possibly can. Our Master Playwrights Series has been so successful that we thought we could use a similar format for musicals, to provide our audience with more theatre to think about. The concerts, which will be performed with limited instrumental accompaniment – Camelot will have just a piano – will include the entire score and book of each show. When you strip away sets and costumes, it enables an audience to really focus on the words."

Camelot, based on T. H. White's novel "The Once and Future King," is the story of the legendary King Arthur, his Utopian vision, and the heartbreaking love triangle that destroys his enchanted kingdom. In his desire to become "the most splendid king who ever sat on any throne," Arthur establishes the Knights of the Round Table, men who will fight only to uphold honor, chivalry and civilization. Among those knights is the noble, righteous Lancelot du Lac, Arthur's best friend. When Lancelot and Queen Guenevere fall in love, their affair ends the "one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot."

The splendid score includes "If Ever I Would Leave You," "I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight," "How to Handle a Woman, "What Do the Simple Folk Do?" and the title song. The original production, which opened in 1960 and ran for 873 performances, starred Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet, and was directed by Moss Hart.

Clive Cholerton has had considerable success directing classic musicals in concert, having staged Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Follies and The Secret Garden at the Caldwell.

For 12 years, Palm Beach Dramaworks has brought has brought to the Palm Beaches a distinguished roster of plays under the guidance of William Hayes. Palm Beach Dramaworks is a non-profit, professional theatre and is a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the South Florida Theatre League, Southeastern Theatre Conference, Florida Professional Theatres Association, Florida Theatre Conference, and the Palm Beach County Cultural Council.

The performance schedule for Camelot is as follows: Evening performances at 8 pm on Friday, January 11 and Saturday, January 12. Matinee performances at 2 pm on Saturday, January 12 and Sunday, January 13. All tickets are $35.00. Student tickets $10 and group rates for 20 or more are also available.

The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, open Monday from 10AM to 5PM, Tuesday through Saturday from 10AM to 6PM, and Sunday from 11AM to 5PM, or visit www.palmbeachdramaworks.org.

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