Magic Theatre puts new spin on King Arthur

The tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table is among the most widely known stories.

The Magic Theatre in Yuba City is presenting its own take on the Arthurian legend, albeit adapted to the group's younger cast. "Little Knights of the Round Table" begins this weekend.

Most versions of the King Arthur story focus on Arthur becoming king after pulling the sword Excaliber out of the stone and using it to defeat the Saxon invaders. Other stories focus on his Knights of the Round Table searching for the Holy Grail. And some focus on Lancelot, one of Arthur's knights, having an affair with Arthur's wife, Guinevere.

Instead of all of these, "Little Knights of the Round Table" focuses on the story of Lancelot becoming a knight.

"I got the idea after I watched one of the King Arthur movies a while ago," said the play's writer and director, John Trent. "I saw the potential to have a lot of humor in it, and to have fun with it."

Trent co-wrote the script for the play with his son Jeremy. "He wanted to work on it with me," said John Trent. "He watched the movie and asked to help, and he came up with a lot of the gags."

Jeremy Trent's input also yielded one of the play's twists: The adult characters speak using slang words kids would use, while the characters played by kids all speak using proper English.

"It's a backward spin on the way people talk," Trent said.

With this twist on language, Trent said, the play would be appreciated by both children and adults. "We're making fun of all the kid slang that goes around today and will definitely appeal to families. ... It's going to be a lot of fun."

The cast of "Little Knights of the Round Table" includes Joshua Vitorino as Lancelot, Andrea Myers as Elaine, Michael Pugh as Percival, Betsy Johnson as Erin, John Trent as Galahad, Kevin Heller as King Arthur and Madeline Kellogg as Guinevere.

The play runs to Aug. 23.

“Little Knights of the Round Table”
Times: 1 and 3 p.m. Saturdays; runs to Aug. 23
Where: The Magic Theatre, 815 B St., Yuba City
Tickets: $5. Call 751-1100