Theater Review: Spamalot by JR

Spamalot, in case you were wondering about the odd name for a musical or if I had it confused with Camelot, is the musical “lovingly ripped off” from the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. It is the story of Arthur, King of the Britons, and his quest to find Knights for his famed Round Table, and consecutively, his quest to find the Holy Grail. Eric Idle, of the original Python cast, wrote the musical. During its original Broadway run, Spamalot won 3 Tony’s including Best Musical and was nominated for 14.

If you turned up your nose in disgust at the first sentence, “How could they do that??!! What sellouts! It couldn’t possibly be any good. Harrumph!” You are mistaken. While the show does leave out a few very funny scenes from the movie, the scene at the castle with all of the women being one of them and also the scene with the witch hunt, it stays true to the tone of the Monty Python humor. You may be pleased to hear that some of the dialogue is entirely the same; for example, the bit in the beginning of the movie about the coconuts and the swallows. This really helps get the audience going. The jokes that have been ingrained into our heads for over 20 years are still funny because now we are seeing them in person. The audience literally cheers and whistles when they see the French taunters (who are quite vulgar in the musical version, more so than in the movie) or the Knights Who Say Ni, or the Killer Rabbit.

Remember in the movie when King Arthur is telling Dennis (the politically correct activist muddling around in the shithole) that he is king because the Lady of the Lake told him that he was to be the one to wield Excalibur? She’s become a character in the musical. Played by Esther Stilwell in the touring cast, The Lady of the Lake and her Laker girls steal the show whenever they are on stage. She’s overexaggerated, mocking Christina Aguilera’s stupid hand motions when she sings, and she holds her own against a cast entirely of men. Her voice is beautiful and her range is challenged in this musical, especially in “The Song That Goes Like This” that has like 5 key changes, but still she’s amazing. I only wish there were more of her. She does too, as she comes out halfway through the second act complaining about her lack of stage time during the hysterical “Diva’s Lament”.

Having peeked online at some clips featuring the Broadway cast, I was a bit disappointed by the touring cast’s King Arthur. This only being because the Great Tim Curry played King Arthur on Broadway, and nobody could do as well as he. However, Michael Siberry played King Arthur in the touring cast, and he held his own. I only wish I hadn’t watched those clips before the show. The Lady of the Lake and King Arthur are the only two members of the cast who don’t play more than one role. Staying true to the Monty Python way, all other members of the cast play several roles.

The rest of the knights are great as well, each having idiosyncrasies of his own that adds to the hilarity of it all. One of them shits his pants quite frequently, one of them turns out to be gay in a great Village People type song and dance number, and one of them is constantly flatulent. I’m not going to reveal who, you’ll have to see it for yourself. Also, God makes an appearance in the show. But instead of the head in the sky, a giant pair of feet descend from the rafters and when King Arthur tries looking up at him, God exclaims, “Stop trying to look up my skirt!” The voice of God is the pre-recorded voice of John Cleese.

The music is wonderful, with Python favorites such as “the Fisch Schlapping Song” and “The Bright Side of Life” making appearances in the musical. There is a song for the “I’m not dead yet!” scene, and everyone in the audience was walking around singing it during intermission and as we were walking out after the show. I’m singing it right now in fact. “I am not dead yet! He is not dead yet!” There is also a song to announce intermission, after the French taunters throw dead animals at the knights, aptly titled, “Run Away”. In fact, after final curtain call, the cast lead the audience in a Follow the Bouncing Ball type sing along of “The Bright Side of Life”. Several references to other musicals are sprinkled throughout the show as well, including “Phantom of the Opera”, “West Side Story”, and “Les Miserables”.

I completely enjoyed myself at Spamalot. If only tickets weren’t so bloody expensive, I’d be going again. I haven’t met one person who doesn’t like Monty Python, or who wouldn’t love the humor of this musical. This one’s for everyone. To find out if Spamalot is coming to your town, click here. There are also rumors that it may be made into a film, in which case, I’ll be keeping you posted.