Subj : Re: Spamalot review, Chicago 2Jan 2005 To : Todd H. From : devendorf Date : Wed Jan 05 2005 12:29 am From: "devendorf" Is there a killer bunny? How do they do it? "Todd H." wrote in message news:m0zmzpng4c.fsf@ripco.com... > > 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! > > Best Regards, > -- > Todd H. > http://www.toddh.net/ --- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5 * Origin: FidoNet MONTE <--> alt.fan.monty-python (1:379/45) .