What do you get when you take the cult classic Monty Python and The Holy Grail,
add a bit of the British comedy troupe’s other great movies and music,
toss in a pinch of Broadway cliché and a dash of pop culture, and throw
it all into a blender?
With such an incredible following, it would be unthinkable for Monty Python to just take the plot of The Holy Grail,
add a few musical numbers, and let ‘er rip on Broadway. Instead, the
Pythons took the opportunity to build on their comedic legacy by
parodying not only themselves, but every Broadway and pop culture
reference they could get their hands on. Amazingly enough … it worked!
The broad outline of The Holy Grail remains intact.
King Arthur still assembles his cast of knights to seek the holy grail,
and encounters weird and wild obstacles along the way. But some
elements of the film’s plot were moved around a bit, and songs from other Monty
Python productions were added and revised to fit the plot.
Spamalot’s
outlandish satirization of Broadway’s most glaring clichés helps form
a diverted plot twist in the second act, in which Arthur realizes that
the only way he’ll find the Holy Grail is by putting on a Broadway play. Don’t
worry; this is far from a spoiler, as the pursuit of the Broadway play
becomes it’s own hilarious journey.
Never taking their stint on Broadway too seriously, Monty Python takes on the self-mocking task of weaving together Broadway and pop culture spoofs with references to The Producers, Phantom of the Opera, Cats, West Side Story, and The Wizard of Oz, just to name a few. All this while moving along the adapted storyline of Monty Python and and the Holy Grail.
Andrew
Lloyd Webber takes the brunt of the Broadway chastisement, however,
even getting referenced by name by the knights who say "Ni," when they
make the stipulation that the Broadway show that Arthur produces cannot
be an Andrew Lloyd Webber play. When his name is uttered it elicits a
screech even louder than that when the word "Ni" is used.
Lloyd
Webber’s Phantom of the Opera also gets parodied when the Lady of the
Lake does a duet with Sir Galahad, singing "The Song That Goes Like
This" a la "Music of the Night" or "All I Ask of You" or "Wishing You
Were Somehow Here Again" from Phantom. The song’s title refers
to the Broadway cliché that there is always a climactic song (or two or
three) in musicals when the male and female leads come together at
last and sing a long, overly dramatic song to each other.
Rife
with sarcasm, the song’s opening lyrics reads, "Once in every show,
there comes a song like this. It starts off soft and low, and ends up
with a kiss."
Not
only does Arthur’s path change in the play, but so does that of Brave,
Brave Sir Robin, who learns that he wants to work in musical theater,
and the outed Sir Lancelot who finds that his "Holy Grail" is to "Find
your male."
Patrick Heusinger, who returns to Minnesota, where he played young Lars in the 2005 film Sweetland,
puts in the best performance of the evening as Sir Lancelot … and The
French Taunter … and Knight of Ni … and Tim The Enchanter. That’s
right; he plays four parts, each as bold and audacious as the last. His
performance is the most reminiscent of the original cast of The Holy Grail.
The
Lady of the Lake character is a welcome addition to the plot, only
appearing as a reference in the Holy Grail film. Played by Esther
Stilwell, the stereotypical diva has her mind set on marrying King
Arthur from the beginning. Not only is her character a diva, but the
songs that she sings are reminiscent of pop divas Mariah Carey,
Cristina Aguilera, and Celine Dion … on steroids. Stilwell’s
deliberately pitchy singing and overly dramatic performances poke fun
at the Diva culture.
If
there is something missing from the film version, it is the
characteristicly high male voices that the Monty Python crew brought to The Holy Grail. There are one or two scattered about in Spamalot, but nothing like the Monty Python movies.
Fans of The Holy Grail should fear not, though. Such classic Grail
scenes as Bring out your dead, the killer rabbit, the Black Knight,
the french taunters, and the knights that say "Ni" still play a role in Spamalot.
Some of them have gotten even funnier and have been expanded to include
outlandishly choreographed musical numbers to further the stage plot.
The musical expansion of Grail’s plot
is best exemplified by the transformation of the vignette song "Knights
of the Round Table" from the movie, into a lavish Vegas-meets-Broadway-meets-Camelot number that features showgirls twirling maces, a monk
swing dancing with a nun, a Cher/Liza Minelli/Amy Winehouse lounge
singer, and King Arthur’s round "roulette" table.
So, grab yourself a little Vegas, add a splash of Camelot, mix-in a little Oz, and drink down some Spamalot. And remember, what happens in Spamelot … stays in Spamelot.
Tickets are still available for Spamalot at the Orpheum Theater through June 1.
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