Monty Python’s Spamalot

Do you need a good laugh?  Then Monty Python’s Spamalot is just what the doctor ordered.  This hilarious musical is on the road and bringing comedy to a theater near you.  Would you like to know a little more about this award-winning musical?  Then read on. 

Back in 1969, a group of six comedians got together and created Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a British show that featured comical sketches.  The original cast featured Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Eric Idle.  The show was an innovative new form of entertainment and became a cult hit, influencing other performers along the way.

The show went off the air in 1974, but a movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, was released the next year.  Eric Idle, one of the original Monty Python cast members, makes no attempt to hide the fact that the musical Spamalot is “lovingly ripped off from” that movie.

Idle, who wrote the book and the lyrics for Spamalot, based the musical on an impertinent lampoon of the Arthurian Legend, just as the movie was…but different.  The setting, of course, is still medieval England, and King Arthur plays a major role as he travels around with his servant Patty and seeks the Holy Grail.  He gathers up a cast of comical knights as he wanders, including Sir Lancelot, Sir Robin and other bumbling guards.

Arthur’s journey takes the entourage through a series of escapades.  They bump into a cast of comical characters along the way, including The French Taunter, Tim the Enchanter and the voluptuous Lady of the Lake.  Oh, and the voice of God adds its booming influence as well.

Now here’s the twist.  King Arthur and the knights must produce a musical if they are to fulfill their quest.  That leads to some terrific spoofs about other musicals, including a Las Vegas revue, showing off the silly but impressive choreography.

The whole point of this show is to entertain and make you laugh.  For fans of the original Monty Python’s antics, you’ll appreciate the resurrection of classic jokes and chuckles.  There’s plenty of new material, though, including well-performed songs with lyrics that will get you laughing.

It is no surprise that Spamalot has won so many awards.  This musical keeps its audience laughing from the very beginning to the very end.  It is irreverent and cheeky, featuring a cast of talented singers and dancers.  The scenery is well done and the costumes are fetching. 

This play may not be the right one for young children, but everyone else will find Monty Python’s Spamalot a refreshing blast of comedy.  Whether you’re long familiar with the Monty Python style of humor or waiting for an introduction, an evening with Spamalot is one you’ll smile in remembrance of for many years to come.