Subj : Re: Spamalot review, Chicago 2Jan 2005
To   : Todd H.
From : Todd H.
Date : Tue Jan 04 2005 03:07 pm

From: t@toddh.net (Todd H.)

t@toddh.net (Todd H.) writes:
> This past Sunday, at long last, I was able to experience Spamalot at
> Chicago's Shubert Theater.  I'm thrilled to report that this show's
> got the goods--I've never laughed so hard in a theater.
>
> Now, as any self-respecting high school theater rat from the late 80's
> weaned on Phantom, Les Miz, and lots and lots of Python seen at cast
> parties and quoted at any free moment that was barely applicable, this
> show was something I looked forward to with much anticipation.  In
> fact, to properly prepare myself and my SO for the show, I fired up
> the Betamax (yes, the Betamax--it's still awesome) and watched my copy
> of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail for the umpteenth time of
> delight.  It had been years since I enjoyed it in its entirety.
>
> Hank Azaria was simply brilliant as Lancelot, Village 3, The French
> Taunter, Knight of Ni and Tim the Enchanter.  Azaria's voice can do
> anything, and his comedic timing, accents, and inflection did perfect
> justice to the familiar aspects of the script for all the parts he
> played, as well as new bits.
>
> During the second Knights of Ni scene Azaria had a particularly
> memorable exchange with Tim Curry (as King Arthur).  As he was
> informing Arthur that they "Are no longer the Knights who say Ni, we
> are now the Knights who say..." Azaria launched into 30 seconds of
> riffed babbling capped off by an octave drop in voice in which he
> delivered a dead-on rendition of RiffRaff's beginning of the Rocky
> Horror Picture show's "Time Warp": "It's astounding, Time is
> fleeting//Madness takes its toll."  This brought Curry (whose credits
> include the role of Frank N Further in the R.H.P.S.) to visible
> laughter.
>
> Curry, I'm afraid, was quite a disappointment in the role of King
> Arthur.  Though the King's role even in the movie is a bit of a
> "straight man" role, Curry not only isn't funny in this role, he isn't
> even terribly successful at being likable in the role of King Arthur.
> His acting performance was quite flat, singing unremarkable, and his
> stage movement is extremely labored.  Deftly, the choreography appears
> to have taken some pains to work around his limitations.  I was
> surprised to look up that he's only 58 as his movement would suggest
> late 60's.
>
> Michael McGrath is fabulous in his role as Patsy, King Arthur's
> assistant.  In fact, juxtaposed with Curry's flat rendition of Arthur,
> he quietly teeters on upstaging Curry in every scene.
>
> David Hyde Pierce as Sir Robin, Villager 1, Guard 1, Brother Maynard)
> delivered a solid performance.  Nothing brilliant, but it didn't leave
> me wondering why he was there!
>
> Sara Ramirez as The Lady of the Lake The Witch and The Cow was
> astounding.  She has an absolutely incredible voice, and uses it
> deftly to deliver a very strong comedic performance.
>
> Christopher Sieber as Sir Dennis Galahad gave a strong performance as
> well.  However, I did not care for his direction (perhaps the fault
> director Mike Nichols) in his opening scene where he delivers the
> (brilliantly written) diatribe to King Arthur on the underpinnings of
> socio-political oppression of the working class.  This particular scene
> unfortunately suffers on the stage in comparison to the movie.  Sieber
> delivers much of this scene standing beside Arthur, where he
> absolutely towers in stature over the comparatively diminutive Tim
> Curry.  This makes the comedy suffer when the scene hinges on a serf
> meekly but confidently lecturing a King on politics.  In addition,
> Sieber abandons much of the British accent that makes that scene in
> the movie so hysterical.  Azaria, in contrast, delivers all his
> characters with enough of the original accents to punch the comedy,
> but not so much as to risk losing an American audience who might not
> have the entire film committed to memory.  Sieber errors to much in
> the "American" direction. To his credit, however, Siebers Disney-esque
> chiseled good looks make for an astounding transformation scene where
> he goes from having shit all over 'im to the unfurling of his long
> flowing locks as the valiant Sir Galahad.  The balance of Sieber's
> performance after this opening is quite strong and very likable.
>
> Todd Ellison's orchestra is perfection in this production.  It's
> wonderful to see a musical that actually commits a proper number of
> musicians to the effort.  In addition, supreme kudos to the sound
> engineers responsible for mixing this production.  I'm not sure who
> specifically deserves the thanks within Acme Sound Partners (who are
> credited as the sound designers), but I've not attended a show where
> everything was so perfectly mixed, and every bit of dialog and singing
> was clearly understandable.   With a cast and orchestra this large,
> that is by no means an easy feat.
>
> See this show!

I forgot to mention some bits that were quite entertaining in this to anyone 
who's been to a few of the more popular theater shows.  There's a theme of 
self/industry-deprecation throughout this show that is quite hysterical.

"Song that goes like this" pokes fun at the obligatory close, 
sing-into-the-face-of-your-romantic-interest portion of most musicals. There, 
Sieber as Galahad channels a superby hybrid of Raoul from Phanton and Valjean 
from Les Miz, opposite Diva par excellence Ramirez, singing a song that almost 
narrates the elements that seem rather common in the formula for broadway 
musicals....as they're happening.  Knowing a thing or two about music also 
helps enjoy the comedy as during the song, they announce the obiligatory key 
changes and comment on how the new key "is too high--we should've stayed in D" 
and the like.  One scene ends with a chandelier breaking (PTO), and then, Act 1 
concludes with a whole-ensemble number that includes the waving of a huge 
French flag in the final notes(LesM)!

Cleverly, Eric Idle has even woven in "getting to Broadway" as a requirement of 
King Arthur's quest in this story, which sends King Arthur searching for Jews 
to recruit for their court at Camelot. After all, as they sing, to get to 
Broadway, "You must have Jews!" This gives a great excuse to drop a humongous 
lighted Star of David from the rafters to punch up the number, a la the 
Producers (if memory serves).

Anyhoo, if you're even remotely a Monty Python fan, see this show!  It closes 
in Chicago Jan 16th, and then moves to Broadway, where I anticipate it will 
have a very long successful run.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

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