Flint Youth Theatre celebrates anniversary in style with "Arthur"

This review appeared in The Flint Journal on Monday, July 21, 2008

Flint Youth Theatre's 50th Anniversary season concludes this month with the stellar and completely unique "Arthur, King of Britain."

Written and directed by William P. Ward, this impressive production opened to a packed house Friday. Performed in both FYT theaters (Act One in Elgood; Act Two in Bower), it was a theatrical experience to remember.

Told in flashback, the action is in the mind of Old Bedwyr (Ted Valley) who lies abed in a Christian monastery around 539 AD. Propped on his bed, he retells the tale of his life while a monk (Dylan Raishe) transcribes it.

One of three children tutored by a Druid teacher, Myrddin (Ron Bailey), the first act is joyful and uplifting as Old Faith followers celebrate, dance and learn on the grass beneath a giant henge of stone. Bedwyr and his friends, Arthwyr (Mike St. Cyr) and Ygern (Katherine Roda) grow to adulthood amidst all this oblivious of their parentage or destiny.

Ultimately, Myrddin reveals that he has groomed Arthwyr to become the high king in a land that has no royal lineage, and their childish joy gives way to adult concerns and responsibilities.

This Elgood setting is beautiful, intimate and colorful. The large cast moves with grace and fluidity, led by the Druid priestess Mawgan (Karla Marie Dzurak), as the history of the Roman occupation and the vulnerable state in which their departure left Britain is enacted and retold.

The act concludes with Arthwyr crowned king and united to the Christian Gwenhwyfar (Deidre S. Baker) in an arrangement tying church and state together. Meanwhile, Arthwyr's true love is banished with her unborn child to a faraway nether region.

The audience and the actors all move at intermission to Bower Theatre where Bedwyr's story jumps ahead twenty years to the court of the Round Table. Peace and democracy were the order of the day in Arthwyr's court, but beneath the happy surface lurked a dark secret or two that would ultimately bring it crashing down.

Every medieval story has a villain and Nathan Pease was creepy perfection as the dreadful Medraut. It is up to him to bring all this peace and harmony to a halt, a task that he handled masterfully. Ward has clearly researched the Arthurian legend, which can't have been an easy feat given the time frame of the events. Still, this is not the Camelot story we've all come to know so well. There are twists and interesting turns in this story that held Friday's audience enthralled for the entire two and a half hours.

"Arthur" is a beautiful, educational and action-packed tale. It is also a fitting example of the excellence that is today's Flint Youth Theatre. May the next 50 years continue that splendid tradition.

"Arthur, King of Britain" continues at Flint Youth Theatre through Aug. 9. For more information contact the box office at (810) 237-1530.

***
By Kathleen Kirby
Contributing Writer, The Flint Journal