Laura and I had given each other tickets to a performance of Camelot at the Peace Center for Valentine’s Day. Friday night was the show, and it was fantastic. Michael York starred as Arthur, Rachel York as Guinevere (no relation to Michael), and James Barbour was Lancelot. All three were excellent, as were the supporting actors. Michael York is probably getting a bit old to be portraying Arthur, but he still had a superb performance.
It wasn’t until after the show that I realized how obsessive I’ve been with the Camelot story over the years. A couple of years ago I wrote here about various Camelot situations I had encountered over the course of my career. Even earlier than that, I was reading Howard Pyle’s histories of the Arthurian legends at age twelve, and some of my favorite books included T. H. White’s The Once and Future King, L’Morte d’Artur by , and the books by Mary Stewart. In high school, the rock band that we formed took the name Myrddhin Emrys, the name for Merlin used by Stewart. One of my favorite albums was the "Myths and Legends of King Arthur" by Rick Wakemen. It was only natural that Monty Python’s "The Holy Grail" should become one of my all-time favorite movies.
OK, I guess when I list it like this, it does sound a bit obsessive. However, it’s a compelling tale. Things go tragically wrong despite the most noblest of intentions. However, even when this are going terribly wrong, there is this concept of chivalry – a grand idea to be pursued at all costs, regardless of personal loss.