‘Hope for the future is to carry on’: Regional Theatre of the Palouse begins season with ‘Camelot’

In 2007, a retail store in Pullman was transformed into a 75-seat theater. Since then, the Regional Theatre of the Palouse has produced dozens of plays, musicals and revues, all in the name of both entertaining and educating.

Jim Sato, an actor and RTOP’s resident hair and makeup artist, is one of the theater’s founding members. Growing up in Pullman, Sato said the only opportunity for theater was school drama club.

After high school, he moved to California and attended the University of Southern California School of Drama. After 30 years in Hollywood, he moved back home and founded RTOP to fill the theatrical gap he saw in the Palouse.

“Growing up here, I would have loved to have this kind of theater experience as a child,” he said. “I might have been fulfilled then and not gone off to Hollywood.”

The RTOP season kicks off with “Camelot,” which opened Thursday and runs through Sept. 22. Associate Director Michael Todd, who is directing the show, said “Camelot” hasn’t been performed in the area since the 1970s, which makes it feel like a regional premiere.

The next show in the RTOP season, “Scrooge the Musical,” also hasn’t been done in the area in recent years, and the other shows in the season, “Tootsie” and “An American in Paris,” will both be regional premieres.

“Our mission is to grow the arts and arts education through quality theater, and we realize that mission every day by producing quality theater through our main stage series,” Todd said.

“Camelot” features music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics and a book by Alan Lerner. Aaron Sorkin revised the book for the 2023 Broadway revival of “Camelot,” but RTOP is sticking to the original book for their production.

Based on the story of King Arthur and adapted from T.H. White’s “The Once and Future King,” “Camelot” follows Arthur, (Dennis McGreevy) who begins the story reluctant to go through with an arranged marriage to Guenevere (Laura Whittenberg), which his tutor Merlin the Magician (Sato) chides him for. Guenevere too is unsure about the idea of getting married, but the pair fall in love after a chance encounter in the woods.

Years later, Arthur tells Guenevere about his plans to create a new kind of knight, one who cares more about honor and justice than fighting. This leads to the creation of the Round Table, an idea that quickly grows in popularity across England and France, leading one French knight, the young Lancelot du Lac (Sam Stickles), to travel to Camelot and join the group.

Initially put off by Lancelot’s boastfulness, Guenevere calls for three knights to challenge him to a joust. Easily defeating all three knights, Lancelot gains the respect of the court and of Guenevere herself. With just one look, Guenevere and Lancelot realize their love for one another, torn between their feelings and loyalty to King Arthur.

After several years, Mordred (Benjamin Wambeke), the king’s illegitimate son, arrives in Camelot to try to steal the throne for himself. The unknowing Arthur puts Modred in charge of the Round Table, leading tensions to rise within the kingdom and across Camelot.

“Camelot” also features Guy Worthey (Pellinore), Zakiah Carter and Asa Thomson (Tom of Warwick), Anjuli Dodhia (Nimue), Tina McClure (Morgan Le Fey), Denver Mickali (Sir Lionel), Nicholas Cassleman (Sir Dinidan) and Todd (Sir Sagramore).

The ensemble features Garrett McClure, Gavin Hamilton, Joshua Thomson, Cassie Bailey, Mayzie Patera and Hannah Moorhead.

The show is music directed by Tina McClure and choreographed by Gavin Hamilton. Costumes were created by Peggy Jones, Juliann Yusko and Nancy Moordhurst. Hair and makeup by Sato.

Sato played Mordred in a production of “Camelot” in the ‘80s that was directed by RTOP Executive Director John Rich. He’s much happier playing Merlin the Magician this time around, saying simply “Mordred was so evil.”

Todd and Sato said Rich has a sixth sense for building a theatrical season, while also looking to Broadway for inspiration. The 2023 revival of “Camelot” was a reminder of how relevant the story is for modern audiences.

“We all have dreams, and despite our best efforts, sometimes they crumble around us, but the hope for the future is to carry on,” Todd said. “How powerful, telling that story, to carry that torch, to be that light for another person, which I feel in these times that are quite divided, helps bring people together with the unifying message.”

On the arts education side, RTOP offers an impressive variety of camps and classes for performers of all ages. The theater recently wrapped up a series of summer camps and also hosts seasonal workshops. Those interested can also sign up for private voice lessons.

There are also acting classes taught year-round every Thursday with each month focusing on a different performing arts theme. In January, the acting classes will begin a four-month series called “Page to Stage: Bringing Story Books to Life.”

The theater also offers foreign language conversation groups led by Todd, who majored in Spanish and minored in German at the University of Idaho.

“In between travel, people can schedule time and meet in those different languages,” he said. “That’s another element that was grown. We didn’t have that Day 1, but we’re always growing and pushing the envelope through education and reaching more people.”

Some of the younger performers in “Camelot” have participated in past workshops, though workshop attendees don’t have to audition for mainstage productions. The benefits of the workshops and classes extend past the stage, Todd said, with RTOP often acting as a springboard to other goals.

“It can translate to any skill, wherever they take it, the poise, the projection, the self confidence, the working as a team, all of that builds well-rounded individuals … ” he said. “Often the arts are seen as obviously a creative outlet, obviously a lifeline too for individuals, but they’re undervalued, especially in rural Eastern Washington, where sports take prominence. The skills that are learned are so valuable and so needed for young people and artists of all ages.”