Spamalot!

Went with the Wife to see "Spamalot" at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio Saturday. Holy crap, it was funny!



I went in thinking it'd be Eric Idle's version of "The Producers," basically the movie on stage, with more songs. Very wrong. There's a reason this isn't called "Monty Python & the Holy Grail Live!" The show is very heavily bases on the original movie, sure, but it's more of a spoof of Broadway conventions than a different riff on that classic film. The show lifts great bits from "Flying Circus" (the fish slapping dance!!!) and "Life of Brian" ("Always Look on the Bright Side of Life") and references more modern pop culture, such as "What Happens in Camelot Stays in Camelot" as well as older pop culture (Carmen Miranda!?). An inspired bit of lunacy came with a nod to "Pee Wee's Big Adventure," when the actors on stage sang out "The Stars At Night, Are Big And Bright..." with the quick-on-the-uptake audience responding just as you'd expect them to. Another inspired bit involved audience participation in the finale, where a guy unfortunately-named "Houston" was taken onstage and told "Houston will be honored in San Antonio forever more" or words to that effect, prompting the audience to snicker knowingly. Hey, at least his name wasn't "Dallas."

The long and short of it is, this ain't what you're expecting. Some of the big set pieces--the Trojan Rabbit, the Black Knight, Tim--are all there, but shuffled and tweaked considerably. And there's a heck of a lot of new stuff. The best comparison I can make is this is "Flying Circus" as compared to "Live at the Hollywood Bowl." Different contect, different delivery and a lot of new stuff besides. Only "Spamalot" is moreso. I never thought I'd be saying this, but the original "Holy Grail" movie has a far more coherent plot than the play. Doesn't matter. You'll laugh your ass off. Highly recommended.

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