And Now For Something Completely Different...

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And Now For Something Completely Different...

Date Created: Jul 11, 2005, 03:09 PM

The reason for the line outside the Shubert Theatre is the show inside the Shubert Theatre. Broadway's new hit musical, "Monty Python's Spamalot" is a colorful, wacky screwball staging of the 1975 cult classic, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".

Penned (and re-penciled in)by Python Eric Idle, the show starts off by following the plot of the movie, in which King Arthur (played by Tim Curry of "Rocky Horror Show" and "Annie" fame) sets out on a quest to find the Holy Grail. Like it's title character, the show then gets lost on its way during the second act, and becomes a bevvy of glitz, glamour, and the quest for the Grail suddenly becomes the need for a "Jew"...

O.K!

While a lot of the skits were presented with the snap-crackle finesse of the original Python group, the line between tasteful and crass humor was constantly being drawn. An overwrought need to make sure that the silly songs were seen as "spoofs" brought the humor level down a few notches, in my opinion. The show seems too aware of itself. For example, a lead character begins to sing a sappy love song, typical of musical comedies, and goes on to literally sing "A Song That Goes Like This...", pointing out how painful these songs are to listen to, all the while going on and on with the song...

For me the show worked best when it dealt with the actual site gags and scenes that came directly from the movie. Flying Cows, Rude Frenchmen, Killer Rabbits, and the presense of "God" (Voiced by Former Python John Cleese). The colorful and inventive scenery, costumes, and lighting (including some Terry Gilliam-like animation), was worth the price of admission. I also enjoyed the scenes created out of other more familiar Python skits. The rest, which ran from dry to (what seemed to me would be highly offensive) bland humor, was not quite as effective. I was surprised that the audience responded enthusiastically and excitedly, often applauding at the mere presence of familiar characters and songs. Don't get me wrong. I did have quite a few chuckles and laughs throughout the presentation.

The performers were spot on, tackling on such famous characters in their own, interesting ways. Tim Curry performed brilliantly as King Arthur, and "Frasier"-alumni David Hyde Pierce was a pip as Sir Robin. The rest of the cast did an outstanding job of recreating not only the weird villagers of the movie, but of reminding us of the source of the story itself, Monty Python.

SPAMALOT won this year's Tony Award for Best Musical, and so is a hard and hot ticket to obtain. But it is worth the wait. If you plan to see it, bone up on your Python in the meantime. Repeats are still shown on BBC America.

Interesting side-bits: We had bought our tickets back in March, and since we had needed a Saturday Matinee, we could only get them four months out! Our seats, in the very last row of the very last mezzanine, at first appeared to be daunting, but offered a great view of the entire show, at less than half of what everyone in the expensive seats were paying.