Summary
On the eve of opening night, American Classic throws in a few new obstacles in “Camelot”, some of which risk feeling like overkill.
American Classic isn’t the kind of show that suits a big late-stage twist. Now that I think about it, I’d never even considered the idea of a major swerve. Millersburg’s production of Our Town has been blighted by problems since the start, and with it having become obvious that Connor was going to cut the funding, there seemed to be more than enough roadblocks to be going on with. That makes Episode 7’s left-field reveal that Richard might be Miranda’s father truly surprising – but also, depending on how it all shakes out, perhaps a bit unnecessary.
Truthfully, I thought the production woes would be enough. As predicted, Connor strips all the money from the play, meaning that all of Richard’s planned embellishments have to be nixed. All that remains is the stage, the cast (who now can’t be paid), and the script. But crucially, there’s also Richard’s unflappable, theatrical attitude. In another take on the recurring “theatre solves all problems” theme, he recounts the St. Crispin’s Day monologue from Henry V, which gets everyone back on side. Even Nadia turns up, having left Connor, with a jangling set of keys that at least allows for a raid on the lock-up where Connor is keeping all the expensive theatre seats. This is exactly what I was expecting from “Camelot”.
For some reason, though, writer-creators Bob Martin and Michael Hoffman decide this isn’t enough. If you zoom out a bit, there’s still quite a lot going on here. Jon has still gambled Miranda’s nest egg away. There’s still some lingering romantic tension between Richard and Kristen, who finally agrees to be a part of the play. Connor is still around despite having done his worst to sabotage the production, though he has transitioned from an antagonistic presence to a weirdly sympathetic one, as he’s trying to get Nadia back. And then there’s the big bombshell about Miranda’s potential parentage.
It’s the last one that feels a bit off to me. Richard and Kristen having been romantic in the past is an intriguing enough dynamic; him potentially being Miranda’s father, which means that Kristen cheated on Jon with him, throws such a major spanner into the works that it also actively sabotages several of the ongoing character dynamics that we’re most invested in. There’s a nice bit here in “Camelot” where Miranda and Jon are rehearsing and get the giggles out of love and excitement that father and daughter are finally getting to perform together. That kind of thing is at risk of being undermined.
And there’s plenty of potential conflict already. Richard is conveniently offered his dream, career-redeeming role right on the cusp of opening night, and while he initially rejects it to instead focus on saving his hometown and putting his family first (which should be the climax of that arc, not the midpoint), he later has second thoughts when Kristen suggests that he should leave town to prevent any unforeseen complications going forward. Of course, he doesn’t realise initially why Kristen is saying that; he doesn’t even realise when Kristen makes it blatantly obvious, which is another weak aspect of how this all comes about. You can really tell it’s being wedged in for the sake of it.
Luckily, despite me having some pretty serious questions about all this, American Classic has grown on me to such an extent – and continued to do so throughout Episode 7, despite some misgivings – that I actually have a lot of faith in its ability to stick the landing. The lay-up is right there: A successful performance, with everyone on the same page, that rejuvenates the town’s faith in theatre without compromising any of the key relationships. This isn’t the right show for edgy ambiguity, and I hope we don’t go there. Oddly, I’m still confident that we won’t.
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