Directed by Mike Nichols, Eric Idle’s Spamalot was a runaway hit before the first
performance even began.The musical, based on
the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is a
souped-up, big budget musical packed with extensive production values and several new songs.It
is most successful, however, when it is faithful to the original source material.
The story revolves around the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of
the Round Table.Tim Curry plays the hapless
Arthur, who goes in search of the Holy Grail and along the way finds disdainful Frenchmen,
killer bunny rabbits, knights who say “Ni” and other such wackiness.The
movie has been supplemented with some added bits and a bizarre storyline in which the
characters have been mandated to find Broadway, where the Holy Grail now awaits.The second half of the show is spent in pursuit of
the elusive Broadway – in a yet undiscovered continent and several hundred years into
the future.
The added material doesn’t always work.The Camelot as Vegas bit (“What happens in
Camelot, stays in Camelot”) is good for a few laughs, but the creation of a long
production number drains the scene of its initial hilarity.Conversely,
the funniest routine of the night features the gifted Christopher Sieber as a frustrated
father imprisoning his son with the help of two incompetent guards.This classic “Who’s on First” skit
actually gets funnier the longer it goes on…and on...and
on. Better that the creators had stuck
to the original sketches as Spamalot works best
during these vintage Python routines.
As Arthur, Curry is perfectly cast – he has a strong presence, a
beautiful baritone and manages to seem kingly and clueless at once. The Knights include an
uncharacteristically subdued Hank Azaria, as the outed Lancelot, and the appealing David
Hyde Pierce, making a successful Broadway debut as the cowardly Sir Robin.The latter is particularly effective in “You
Won’t Succeed on Broadway,” a soft-shoe number that shows off the TV
actor’s theatrical chops.
But it is Sara Ramirez, as the Lady of the Lake, who stands out and
steals the show from her talented male counterparts.Ms.
Ramirez is a stunner – all curves, huge eyes and a striking, expressive face.She is an accomplished comedienne and has a voice
with a range that can pretty much do it all.From
Andrew Lloyd Webber-inspired musical operetta to the smoothest of jazz to
Vegas-inspired cabaret numbers, this Lady
delivers them all in a star-turn that brings to mind the musical theater’s legendary grand dames.One
can easily picture Ms. Ramirez as Miss Adelaide, Mrs. Lovett, Annie Oakley and in any
number of the great parts usually reserved for the likes of Bernadette Peters or Patti
LuPone.It is when she is onstage that the
show really takes off and its weaker parts don’tseem
to matter.
While the show is uneven—some jokes do fall flat and some bits go
completely over the audience’s head—it ultimately doesn’t matter.The gags keep coming, one after the other, and the
ones that do hit their target are priceless. Armed with a strong cast, brisk and dynamic
direction by Nichols, and general outlandish silliness, Spamalot will delight both devotees of Monty
Python and regular theatergoers in search of a much-needed escape into a madcap world
where they can always “look on the bright side of life.”
