THE HOLY GRAIL OF SILLINESS
It’s been 40 years since the release of the landmark comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail and 33 years since the British sketch comedy troupe recorded Live at the Hollywood Bowl. The two events collided last night when the 2005 Broadway musical Spamalot, which original Python member Eric Idle “lovingly ripped off from the motion picture,” opened at the Bowl. Now through Sunday, both fans of and newbies to Monty Python’s surreal antics have a chance to see Idle himself in the tiny role of narrator (another original Python, Michael Palin, has a cameo as God on the giant video screens).
This parody tells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they set out on a quest to find the Holy Grail (the cup said to have been used at the Last Supper). Idle—librettist, lyricist, and co-composer with John Du Perez—was never out to make high art; for silly, mindless, hysterical theatrical entertainment you would be hard-pressed to find a more apt musical. Still, based on five productions I’ve seen, all of that silliness can be a bit wearying if the show isn’t sharp. Bowl productions only have 10 days of rehearsal, so it was necessary, I suppose, to use ensemble members who have already appeared in Spamalot elsewhere. A collision of casting such as this can create a spontaneous combustion of alchemy (Hairspray at the Bowl), but here we have a spotty affair.
Every actor hits his mark, and director BT McNicholl is to be commended for a collision-free cavalcade, but since the musical is tossed together recreating sets and dances from the original production, the chips can only fall where they may. Because of hit-and-miss singing, Philip G. Allen’s troubling sound design, and the lack of Vaudevillian timing on the part of some players, what could have been inspired lunacy ends up as inconsequential as the musical itself.
If, however, you come with the mindset of Python nostalgia (those 40-year-old jokes are still funny!) and consume your boxed wine under the stars, it will be like visiting an old friend and you shouldn’t be disappointed (indeed, King Arthur is ordered by Idle to do a show in an amphitheater filled “with 18,000 drunks”). In addition, Broadway veterans Rick Holmes, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Tom Deckman, and Kevin Chamberlin are terrific in a variety of roles–Holmes’ French Taunter is a highlight of the night. An inspired casting choice is “Reduced Height” actor Warwick Davis (Willow) as Arthur’s sidekick, Patsy, the one who clanks coconuts to represent a clip-clopping horse. Davis not only astounds with amazing vocals (“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”) but dances up an impressive storm.
The only upset is comedian Craig Robinson (TV’s The Office) as the put-upon King, and it ain’t about talent: Robinson’s forte is film and TV, and he is clearly out of his element here among the stage greats. As Sir Galahad, Christian Slater’s voice is shaky, and his accent goes all over the place, but he is still winning.
With all that testosterone flying around the stage it must be time to bring on the dancing girls. To that end, the show boasts several production numbers featuring a bevy of buxom babes decked out in everything from a nun’s habit to a scanty Vegas showgirl get up. The sole female lead role, The Lady of the Lake, is one of the most showy and memorable parts written for a woman in recent musical history. Each of her five songs is written in a different style allowing the actress to stretch her vocal abilities and soar. Stepping up to the plate and hitting a grand slam home run is Merle Dandridge, who was the very best thing about Pasadena Playhouse’s Kiss Me, Kate last year. Still, as with everyone else on the stage, she gets lost in the Bowl’s vastness, and for those whose video screens are blocked (yours truly) forget about seeing anybody’s facial expressions.
If outfits like Musical Theatre West can put together an amazing concert-staged musical in 25 hours, it’s a shame the Bowl can’t do better with 10 days. Yet, if you’re in the mood for unbridled frivolity and an escape from the day’s heat, then Spamalot is just what the doctor ordered. Musical theater aficionados will especially appreciate the light-hearted lampooning the show gives many of Broadway’s biggest hits. True, they’re inside jokes, but if you get the references they’re guaranteed to put a smile on your face.
photos by Craig T. Mathew/Mathew Imaging
Monty Python’s Spamalot
Hollywood Bowl
ends on August 2, 2015
for tickets, www.hollywoodbowl.com
