NOT DEAD YET, BUT CLOSE
Another revival of the sometimes sassily sophomoric Spamalot, or rather Monty Python’s Spamalot, slammed onto Broadway with a hot-to-trot, eager-beaver and carnivorously comic production filled with Python’s “take no prisoners” spoofery, where every gag, sight or sound is grist for a very silly mill, especially that flying cow.
Michael Urie, Nik Walker, James Monroe Iglehart,
Christopher Fitzgerald, Jimmy Smagula, Taran Killam
The tales of King Arthur and his knights of the round table stand as icons of literature, leaving them ripe for outrageous parody in Monty Python’s 1975 cult classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail (has it really been almost 50 years?!). Spamalot walks the line of being a musical version of Holy Grail and being (as the Pythoners frequently said on their 1969-1974 television program) “something completely different.”
Michael Fatica, Taran Killam, Drew Reddington, Ethan Slater
Spamalot is primarily the creation of Python original member Eric Idol (book, lyrics and a shared music credit with John du Prez). As in the film, Spamalot portrays the travels of this version of King Arthur as he assembles some truly misfit knights for the quest laid out for them by God (shown in a cartoon overhead). Idol targets the loftily literary Arthurian legends of Sir Thomas Malory, Alfred Lord Tennyson and T.H White, but more is spoofed here: showbiz clichés about Jews, gays, and empty showstoppers; xenophobic British history, where Frenchmen are always flatulent fools; tap-dancing Las Vegas revues; and even the very human quest for meaning that animates King Arthur’s round table and the knights’ search for the Holy Grail (how perfect that this production resides at the theater named for Saint James, the patron saint of pilgrims…to Broadway, I guess).
Michael Urie with the Ensemble
At times, the script is extremely loyal to the movie with whole passages being verbatim (as we former youngsters once obsessed with Monty Python can attest to) right down to some of the French taunt, “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!” Some otherwise familiar scenes yield different outcomes, though, allowing the flavor and memories of the film to come through while propelling the altered plot-line for this version. Thus, Act I feels like something we’ve seen before and doesn’t really take off. Even with a stellar cast, it’s not as surprisingly funny as the movie. But there are numerous parts in Act II which are completely new for Spamalot that work much better.
The Cast
The target here is humanity’s pursuit of renegade phantoms through vaulting vanity, but the darker currents are ingeniously sugar-coated with sardonic but feel-good anthems: Life of Brian‘s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (the perfect antidote to mindless optimism); “The Song That Goes Like This” (a cure for the bloviating pretentions of the power ballads of Lord Webber and Les Miz); and “Find Your Grail” (a feel-good anthem that manages to mean everything and nothing).
The Cast
Truly a nonsensical inconsequential musical with a loose through-line at best, none could argue that we see plenty of song and dance, including a rather good Broadway-style tap number. Even though the choreography by director Josh Rhodes doesn’t feel inspired — it’s just pastiche — his dance pacing is swift. But with pedestrian direction, the slapstick doesn’t always hit the mark, even as the essential tomfoolery is given its due.
Christopher Fitzgerald and James Monroe Iglehart
James Monroe Iglehart gives a pitch perfect performance as the put-upon King. His deadpan reactions and rich vocal acumen resonate on every level. The King’s recruits are Sir Dennis Galahad (Nik Walker), Sir Lancelot (Taran Killam) and the skittish Sir Robin (Michael Urie) who is prone to soiling his pants in dangerous situations. All three actors play multiple characters with great success. Killam inhabits Tim the Enchanter, the Knight of Ni, and The French Taunter, successfully spitting out dozens of Bronx Cheers in a row. Walker brings The Black Knight and Prince Herbert’s father to life, and Urie is charming as Guard 1 and Brother Maynard, and his “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway” is a showstopper.
Nik Walker and Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer
Doing octuple duty is Ethan Slater, who excels in his portrayals of, among others, a Minstrel, the Historian, Not Dead Fred, and Prince Herbert — Slater presents fully realized and distinct characters that are always on the mark. Balancing the lunacy is Christopher Fitzgerald, who adds some lovely tenderness to the show as Patsy, Arthur’s underappreciated henchman, while also rising to the occasion every time his comedic timing is needed.
Ethan Slater
The Lady of the Lake, a role much expanded from the film, is arguably one of the most challenging and — when performed well — one of the most showy and memorable parts written for a woman in recent musical history. Each of her five songs is written in a different style allowing the actress to stretch her vocal abilities and soar. Leslie Rodriquez Kritzer wobbles in the first act, but soars in the second. Still she’s no Sara Ramirez, who not only won the Tony as the original Broadway Lady, but also subsequently landed a regular starring role on the hit ABC show Grey’s Anatomy.
Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer and Chorus
The orchestra under the capable wand of John Bell sets the perfect musical tone, the set and projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III fits the three-tiered house very well, and Tom Watson‘s hair and wigs and Jen Caprio‘s costumes fit the show to a tee (I loved the chicken stitched on Sir Robin’s tunic).
Nik Walker
If you’re looking for a serious, socially responsible piece of theater than this isn’t the show for you, but if you’re in the mood for unbridled frivolity then Spamalot is just what the doctor ordered. What is hard to judge is whether someone unfamiliar with the film would find the joy in it nearly as much as those who cherish it. I can’t say it’s magic (Merlin was not involved in the making of Spamalot), but you may become Sir Laugh-a-lot. And that is the holy grail needed for our nutty times.
Michael Urie
photos by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman
Spamalot
St. James Theatre, 246 West 44th St
limited engagement (probably)
for tickets, visit Spamalot The Musical