Spamalot

The dis-oriented author is a theater fan. I hate to admit it but I am a big fan of Broadway musicals. When business takes me to New York, I often try to take in a show. The first show I saw on Broadway was Les Miz. Since then I have seen Broadway or touring productions of Phantom, Rent, The Producers, 42nd Street, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Mama Mia, Titanic  and Ragtime.

During my misspent youth I was a fan of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Rocky Horror was a cult classic and I saw it about a dozen times. (If you must know it starred Tim Curry as a transvestite alien.)

I was also a big Monty Python fan. I actually did not see many episodes but my friends were such dedicated fans that eventually I learned all the comedy bits.

So when Monty Pythons's Spamalot hit Broadway I knew that I had to see it. Tim Curry plays King Arthur, David Hyde Pierce (Niles Crane from Frasier) is Sir Robin and Hank Azaria (The Simpsons, Friends) is Lancelot. The play won the Tony for best musical and I wanted to see it before the original cast left.

I was fortunate to get tickets — I got to see Spamalot tonight.

Spamalot retains all the silliness of Monty Python. When I walked in the set just said, Monty Python.  The show retains so many of the comedy bits form the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. After seeing Tim Curry in drag as the evil Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show it was cool to see a much older Curry playing a comedic Arthur King of the Britons.

David Hyde Pierce, who played the whiny, wimpy Niles Crane on Frazier was perfectly typecast as the winy, wimpy Sir Robin. He was especially good when he played some of the other bit parts.

Hank Azaria was absolutely amazing. Besides playing Lancelot (part of the time in a Gay male revue), he played the lead French knight. When he said, "I fart in your general direction" I believed him. He handled the taunting of the English that you might be led to believe that he was really French.

The play is self-conscious in that some of the actors lie Arthur and the Lady of the Lake speak or sing of going to Broadway. The Broadway bits Sir Robin singing about needing Jews to succeed on Broadway.

In any great adventure
    If you don’t want to lose
Victory depends upon the people
    that you choose.
So listen Arthur, darling,
    Closely to this news.
We won’t succeed on Broadway
    If we don’t have any Jews.

I enjoyed every minute of this show — for two hours and twenty minutes, I could not stop laughing.