Studio Tenn’s much anticipated season closer, Camelot opens Thursday, May 5 and runs through Sunday, May 15 at the theatre’s home stage, Jamison Hall at The Factory in Franklin. As the company prepared for Opening Night, I had the opportunity to chat with four members of the cast for the latest installment of my recurring interview feature, Rapid Fire 20 Q. In conversation this time, I’m putting the spotlight on Brian Gligor, who plays King Arthur, his Guenevere, Steffanie Leigh, her other on-stage love interest, Bryce Dunn, as Lancelot, and Abram Guice, who plays troublesome Mordred.
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH BRIAN GLIGOR, KING ARTHUR IN STUDO TENN’s CAMELOT
JHPENTERTAINMENT: What’s your favorite character trait—whether good or not so good—about King Arthur?
BRIAN GLIGOR: What most strikes me about King Arthur is his compassion for individuals from all walks of life. The brilliance in the lore of King Arthur is that he wasn’t born into a royal family. He grew up a peasant, serving as a page to his cousin, and only became King because of the miracle that took place when he removed Excalibur from the stone. Because of this, he understands both the life of a peasant and that of royalty, and he embarks on creating a new order of chivalry where the powerful use their advantages to help those who are less fortunate. His tale is the birth of democracy. His Achilles Heel is that his broad ideals don’t function the same in his personal life.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: This isn’t exactly your first time at The Round Table, having appeared in the 2014 production of Monty Python’s Spamalot at UT Knoxville’s Clarence Brown Theatre where you played Galahad. So, a two-parter….First, Do you think the bawdiness of Spamalot has helped bring a little more fun to your portrayal as Arthur? And…Second,….stay with me here…Speaking of the Clarence Brown, among your many shows there, you also shared the stage with the inimitable Carol Mayo Jenkins as recently as 2019 during her triumphant turn as Aurelie, the titular role in Madwoman of Chaillot. Totally a selfish question as I’ve adored her since I was a kid and have gotten to know her in recent years. What’s it like to share the stage with her?
BRIAN GLIGOR: Ooooh Yes. I grew up watching Monty Python’s The Holy Grail on repeat, and the Clarence Brown Theatre’s production of Spamalot was outstanding. King Arthur’s tale is of course much more profound in Camelot than in Spamalot, but I approached the mythos and lore of King Arthur much more comically, and I like to think Lerner & Loewe would have approved.
Camelot is a Musical Comedy, but like many in its day this musical mixes larger themes into the narrative. There is a quote from the French theatre-maker Molière that I love: “the duty of comedy is to correct men by amusing them.” I hope the comedy in our show helps engage our audience with its broader themes.
As for Carol, I have had the immense fortune to share the stage with Carol Mayo Jenkins in four productions, and I credit her for teaching me how to handle heightened text. She is a master at this art-form, and I was her student in my graduate studies at the University of Tennessee. She was relentless, and I think I’d make her proud in Camelot. I am extremely grateful for my time with her as a student and as a co-star. Yes, watching her as Aurelie in Madwoman of Chaillot was incredible, but a highlight of my career was playing Charles with Jenkins as Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit. That’s where we really got to make some magic happen together.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: On the subject of working with others, Studio Tenn’s production of Camelot is directed by Phil McKinley, whose directorial credits range from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus to The Boy From Oz and Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. What’s something unexpected director Phil McKinley has encouraged from you in the role of King Arthur?
BRIAN GLIGOR: I continue to find movement as a profound skill for storytelling on stage. I have studied Suzuki, Corporeal Mime, Viewpoints, and many other movement practices to cleanly and clearly tell stories physicality. Phil and I absolutely connect on this front. We’ve been sharing clips of movement pieces that inspire us. I’ve built much of the Royal formality you’ll see in our show from his expertise with movement and my experience with corporeal mime.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: While prepping questions for these conversations I rewatched the 1967 Richard Harris/Vanessa Redgrave film adaptation. Early on in the film, when Arthur first sees Guenevere, while telling her about Merlin, he say, “He doesn’t age, he youthes”, further explaining that he can see the future and tell you what you’ll do in it. If you could have the ability to do the same, would you?
BRIAN GLIGOR: That isn’t in this story of Camelot. Merlin can’t see the future, but he does express to Arthur that whatever choice Arthur makes is the right choice. Arthur’s choice is the new reality. Arthur is King, so it is definitely the new reality!
I ultimately agree with the sentiment, which I see as a commitment to whatever ideal you put in place at a young age. Stay focused on that. Point your arrow in that direction. There are many references in Camelot about finding your path. Find your path.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Arthur also reveals to Guenevere that Merlin would change him into animals to teach him various lessons. If you could be any animal what would it be and why?
BRIAN GLIGOR: Merlin often turns Arthur into a hawk. Oddly that seems very right for me. I’d like to say “turn me into a Labrador,” but I think really I’m a hawk. They seem peaceful up there, aloft, free, and yet very aware. And they’ll get you if they want to.
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH STEFFANIE LEIGH, GUENEVERE IN STUDIO TENN’s CAMELOT
JHPENTERTAINMENT: First of all, I have to say how lovely to have met you out and about here in Nashville at our mutual friend Curtis Reed’s cabaret show. If you had to describe Lady Guenevere in five words, and I guess since I’m asking you to, you do…what would they be?
STEFFANIE LEIGH: It was lovely to meet you as well! Guen in five words… I would say vivacious, fiery, naive, an exhibitionist, and carefree.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Having been on Broadway, both as the lead in Mary Poppins and in the company of War Paint starring Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole, I gotta ask…What’s among your favorite memories of those shows and your time in them?
STEFFANIE LEIGH: Ah, so many amazing memories! Mary was my Broadway debut, and I will never forget flying over the audience at the end of the show, looking down, making eye contact with my parents, and immediately welling up. And of course, in War Paint, getting to watch two musical theatre legends leaving their hearts out on the stage every night (and then grabbing the occasional drink with them after) was an opportunity I never dreamed I would be lucky enough to have.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Though she is betrothed to King Arthur, Guenevere falls for Sir Lancelot. To that end, as Guenevere, you’ve got not one, but two leading men. Brian Gligor as Arthur and Bryce Dunn as Lancelot. What’s your favorite aspect of sharing the stage with each of them?
STEFFANIE LEIGH: Yeah, I’m one lucky lady! It is so fun to get to tell this story with both of these actors. Brian brings such a unique blend of warmth, vulnerability, and strength to his portrayal of Arthur that is absolutely riveting to watch, and Bryce has this striking purity that effortlessly emanates from him.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Camelot, thanks largely to this show, and of course Jacqueline Kennedy’s use of the term to describe her late husband’s presidency and their relationship, has come to mean an idyllic existence. To that end, what is your real-life Camelot?
STEFFANIE LEIGH: I suppose it would be an existence where everyone truly realized and valued their own individuality. An existence devoid of competing to be the “better than“ and needing to prove oneself, and instead honored the beautiful uniqueness that everyone has to offer. I know, it sound very pie in the sky, but I guess that is what ideals are for.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: As Guenevere, your costumes must be simply divine. Neno Russell and Lauren Roark are the show’s Costumer Designers. What can you tell me about Guenevere’s various looks?
STEFFANIE LEIGH: Neno and Lauren have done such an incredible job with the design of this show. Because our version of Camelot does not include the actors leaving the stage very often for “normal costume changes,” they have created looks that layer together and convert onstage in front of your very eyes. It’s pretty genius! And I get to live out my full feminine, medieval, royal, Game of Thrones dreams in these beautiful clothes every night!
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH BRYCE DUNN, LANCELOT IN STUDIO TENN’S CAMELOT
JHPENTERTAINMENT: What can you tell me about Lancelot?
BRYCE DUNN: Lancelot is an archetype of chivalry itself. He is both pious and courageous, as well as the ultimate hero. At the show’s beginning, Lancelot views himself as a sort of warrior monk. He would consider himself a consecrated virgin and defender of Christendom. However, Lancelot must come to grips with his humanity when he is bewitched by the beautiful Guinevere and finds himself in the middle of an illicit affair.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: As Lancelot, you not only have an affair with Guenevere, but you also defend her honor. To that end, Eric Pasto-Crosby is the show’s Fight Choreographer. Can you speak a little about the process of staging as it relates to the fight scenes?
BRYCE DUNN: The fight scenes are the stuff I dreamed of as a boy, swords clanging, saving damsels in distress. It’s like I’m dreaming. And yet, the fight scenes are challenging, both in skill and physical demand. I’m sure these moments will not disappoint our audience.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Studio Tenn has been promoting the show, as directed by Phil McKinley, as a reimagining and different from previous productions of the Lerner and Loewe classic. You yourself are relatively young, so I have to ask…How familiar were you with the source material prior to joining the cast?
BRYCE DUNN: I have loved the Arthurian Romances, beginning with reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in high school. I adore the score for this show! My favorite piece of Arthurian Literature is The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Lancelot takes the lead on two of the show’s many beloved tunes, C’est Moi and If Ever I Would Leave You. What’s it like taking on such classic show tunes?
BRYCE DUNN: Certainly, there are some big shoes to fill with the legacy of Robert Goulet, but I am very excited about the challenge and hope the audience will be pleased with my work.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Are there any themes within Camelot that you think you’ll take with you once the show wraps?
BRYCE DUNN: I look at Camelot (particularly this production) within the tradition of Tragedy. The most prevalent theme that I have found in Camelot is the duty of the state to hold society together amid the dangers of human frailty.
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH ABRAM GUICE, MORDRED IN STUDIO TENN’s CAMELOT
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Who is Mordred as you see him?
ABRAM GUICE: At the end of the day, Mordred a child who has been abused. There are many different iterations of these characters, and this one I feel is the most fun.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Researching to chat with you, I discovered you have been in a number of shows at Act Too Players, the youth theatre company overseen by the fabulous Sondra Morton. How has your time with Act Too prepared you for being amongst the cast of Studio Tenn’s Camelot?
ABRAM GUICE: Yes, it definitely has. I wouldn’t be doing any of this if it weren’t for them. They gave me the confidence to be the performer I am today, and are truly my family. They taught me almost everything I know about the stage.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: As Mordred, you take center stage during the show’s second act, especially during The Seven Deadly Virtues. What can you tell me about this musical moment and the show as a whole, as choreographed by Everett Tarlton?
ABRAM GUICE: It is so much fun! Everett is a king, and truly the best at what he does. The movement and dance in our version is nothing like you’ve seen before in any production of Camelot. It really keeps the audience as well as the actors as entertained and engaged as possible.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Many people’s first introduction to King Arthur was by way of T. H. White’s The Once and Future King. For me, it was an old Disney animated movie, The Sword and the Stone. What was yours?
ABRAM GUICE: Initially it was the T.V show Merlin, but after that I fell down a rabbit whole of studying Arthurian Legend all throughout high school. Some was just for fun, and some was to write mini skits or short stories to try and create in my film class.
JHPENTERTAINMENT: Camelot first opened on Broadway in 1960. Some sixty two years later, what is it about this story and these characters that still enthralls actors and audiences alike?
ABRAM GUICE: To me, it’s the history. I mean, almost every kid at once in their life wanted to be a warrior or knight, and the idea of King Arthur’s Round Table always kept that alive for me. These Arthurian Legends have been around for a very long time, and it’s hope that they aren’t going anywhere.
Studio Tenn‘s Camelot opens at Jamison Hall in The Factory at Franklin on Thursday, May 5 at 7p.m. and continues through Sunday, May 15. For all dates, showtimes and to purchase tickets, CLICK HERE.
Following Camelot, Studio Tenn will once again join forces with TPAC to present a Second Season of their hugely popular Cabaret On Stage series, featuring four intimate evenings at TPAC’s Jackson Hall. First, on July 2 it’s award-winning actor and multi-platinum recording artist, Sam Harris (The Life, The Producers) with composer/pianist/theatrical producer, John McDaniel (Daytime TV’s The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Broadway’s 1999 Annie Get Your Gun revival and Patti LuPone Live!). On August 20, Emmy Award-winning actress and recording artist Liz Callaway (Boston TV’s Ready to Go and Broadway’s Merrily We Roll Along, Baby, CATS) and Broadway, television and film actor Jason Graae (A Grand Night For Singing, Falsettos, Wicked) take the stage together. Next up, on September 10, it’s the incomparable Emmy and Tony-winning actress and singer, Kristin Chenoweth (TV’s Pushing Daisies, Schmigadoon! and Broadway’s Wicked, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown). Rounding out the series on October 15, four-time Tony nominated actress/singer Judy Kuhn (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Les Misérables, She Loves Me, Fun Home), who also sang the title role in Disney’s animated modern classic, Pocahontas, will be joined by the aforementioned John McDaniel.
For ticket to these special performances, as well as Studio Tenn’s upcoming 2022/2023 season announcement, be sure to check out Studio Tenn online at StudioTenn.com or on social media at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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