Spamalot

Spamalot, the musical "lovingly ripped off" of the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is in town, and as this is one of my favorite movies from childhood, I determined that we weren't going to miss it. The musical follows the basic premise of the movie, with King Arthur gathering his Knights of the Round Table in a quest to find the Holy Grail. Much of the dialogue is ripped verbatim from the film, though the songs are obviously new material. The music serves to push the musical in a few new directions, namely the requisite jokes about gays, Jews and meta gags about Broadway itself.

Live theater will always edge out film in my mind for its ability to innovate and adapt to changing times and surroundings. Much to my amusement, this performance included a number of somewhat topical additions, as the Lady of the Lake broke into bits of "Put a Ring On It" and "Umbrella" in the midst of various songs, and mockery of Blagojevich's fresh impeachment was in full force. The French taunting scene, for instance, went something like this: "I fart in your general direction. I impeach your corrupt governors. Your mother is a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"

Going into the show, my biggest concern was whether Spamalot would still feel fresh and funny, or whether it would merely be a shadow of a bygone era. And for those who had not seen the movie, would they get the humour as well? All in all, I thought the musical was pretty well-done, with enough of the original movie thrown in to keep the purists happy, but sufficient amounts of new material to make it interesting. Highlights included "The Song That Goes Like This," a passionate ballad that well, goes like this, and "You Won't Succeed on Broadway (If You Don't Have Any Jews)."

If ever there were a musical written for times of recessionary malaise and social insecurity, Spamalot would be it. It's fun and silly, filled with shiny objects and pithy aphorisms. Do not go in expecting a grand, life-changing drama on the order of Les Miserables, and you will come out happy and whistling "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." And what more could you ask for?