East Texas Entertainment

By STEWART SMITH
Entertainment Writer

What do you do when you want to take on a role made famous by Julie Andrews but don't make the cut? If you're Jayme Armstrong, you take on another role made famous by Julie Andrews, of course.

Ms. Armstrong, 26, will perform as Guenevere in the traveling stage production of "Camelot" when it arrives at the University of Texas at Tyler's Cowan Center next week. The Vancouver, Canada native originally attempted to land the role of Maria for Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of "The Sound of Music" when she starred on the Canadian reality TV show, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" She finished third in the competition but caught the eye of the casting director for "Camelot."

"They gave me a call when I got booted off and said, 'How about instead you do 'Camelot,'' and I said, 'That sounds good.'"

Ms. Armstong and the rest of the cast and crew have now been on the road since September, touring North America. In a telephone interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph, she talked for a bit about the challenges of tackling an iconic mythological character as well as the public's shifting perception and reception of musicals.

"It's neat doing a show that is not just sort of musical theater fluff," she said. "It does have a mythology base and was cool to do all the research."

When your part has previously been played by well-known actresses such as Julie Andrews as well as Vanessa Redgrave, the easy thing to do is simply emulate. But Ms. Armstrong said she worked hard to put her own individual spin on the character.

"I really wanted her to be spunky and feisty," she said. "She is a very interesting character. She goes on such a journey through the show. She starts off as this sheltered princess and on her wedding day flees from entourage, as she doesn't want to get married to a man she doesn't know. So it's neat to sort of portray her entire journey because where she starts and where she ends up is so different."

"Camelot" has gone through numerous revisions over the years and the show continues to be tweaked, Ms. Armstrong said, particularly with this production particularly in terms of casting. Typically the role of Arthur is played by someone in their late 50s, but for this the producers decided to cast the three leads a bit closer in age.

"(Normally) it looks like Guenevere leaves Arthur for Lancelot because Arthur is so old," she said. "So in this it's a little bit more realistic and more about different kinds of love."

Casting as such seems to have paid off in Ms. Armstrong's opinion as her leading man, Mark Harapiak, helps keep things perpetually fun.

"Mark is the world's funniest man," she said. "He keeps it real. He keeps things from becoming dry and stagnant. Because of Mark I look forward to doing the show every single time."

Reception to this tour of "Camelot" has been outstanding so far, Ms. Armstrong said, which she attributes to not only the very human story it tells, but also the romanticism of the music.

"It's such a beautiful show musically," she said. "Lancelot sings 'If Ever I Would Leave You' and you can literally hear the gasps every night from the women in the audience. They just love it."

"If Ever I Would Leave You" would become Robert Goulet's signature song following his portrayal of Lancelot during the show's original Broadway run.

"I didn't realize that it was such a popular song when the show was first written," Ms. Armstrong said. "It's sort of bizarre for us to think now that any musical would have numbers that could climb the charts."

"Camelot" will be performed at the Cowan Center at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19. Tickets range in price from $26-$66.

Tickets are available online at www.cowancenter.org, by phone at 903-566-7424 or at the Cowan Center box office.