Review: SPAMALOT Thrills Spectators at Dearborn Players Thru May 24

Now on stage at The Players' Guild of Dearborn is the wonderful musical comedy SPAMALOT. Set sometime in the early middle ages, this highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend is bursting with wit. The opening act is theatre of the absurd in all its glory, when the villagers mistake the word Finland for England, and begin dancing and singing some outrageous "slap the mayor in the face with a big fish" routine. Having Finnish blood, and Anglo-Scandinavian heritage, in general, I found this twisted plot deliciously insane, because I know people who would actually get the two places confused, and others who believe Scandinavians toss fish around at celebrations. Well, maybe some Scandinavians do, but that's another story all unto itself.

Starring in this colorful musical is Joe Donovan as King Arthur. Donovan is perfectly type cast - he's attractive and has charismatic stage presence; he looks exactly like someone you would enjoy having as your king. He is accompanied by his page, called Patsy; the part played spectacularly by Brian Townsend. Townsend has appeared in numerous shows at the Guild, and he's one of those versatile actors who can pull off just about anything - just like Meryl Streep. He has amazing voice control and an uncanny sense of timing that allows him to shine in these comedic roles.

Lindsay Frischmuth stars as The Lady of the Lake; new to The Guild, she has a magnificent voice that impresses to the max. She is an employee in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance at The University of Michigan, and has a professional quality voice. It is a true joy to listen to her sing.

Lindel Salow stars as Sir Robin, a collector of plague victims. One of his corpses keeps complaining, "I'm not dead yet." Salow is a seasoned actor who is excellent in any role he performs. His undead corpse, played by Jacob Dombrowski wows the audience with his strong and energetic dance performance.

Kenyada Davis stars as Sir Lancelot and other figures in the musical. He rocks the house with his performance as the leader of the Knights who say Ni - they who demand a shrubbery. Davis is multi-talented and easily could be the star of his own comedy show.

Sir Galahad (played gallantly by Ken Kilgore) is a political radical who denies that any king who has not been elected by the people has any legitimate right to rule over them. Galahad would not get along well with Caligula.

Phil Booth plays Sir Bedevere the strangely flatulent. Booth is a lot like Charlie Chaplin - he has sophisticated physical comedy skills and great acting skills tied up in one.

SPAMALOT runs at the Players' Guild of Dearborn through May 24.

For tickets and information, kindly visit http://www.playersguildofdearborn.org/spamalot/

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The Cast

King Arthur Joe Donovan

Lady of the Lake Lindsay Frischmuth

Sir Robin Lindel Salow

Sir Lancelot Kenyada Davis

Patsy Brian Townsend

Sir Galahad Ken Kilgore

Sir Bedevere Phil Booth

Historian Jacob Dombrowski

Female Ensemble Diane Cliff, Katelyn Harrison, Liz Kilpatrick, Missy Marks, Ashley Youngheim, Meg Kisch, and Joelle Sobczak Schade

Male Ensemble Nathaniel Booth, Timothy Carney, Jeff Lokken, James Mayne, Richard Moore, Scott Rider, and Kevin Talanges

The Crew

Producers: Mike Mayne and John Sczomak

Director: Kim Donovan

Music Director: Paul Abbott

Choreographer: Valerie Mould

Assistant Director: Maura Donovan

Lindel Salow (left), of Dearborn as Sir Robin, Kenyada Davis of Detroit as Sir Lancelot, Dearborn residents Ken Kilgore as Sir Galahad and Phillip Booth as Sir Bedevere, Joe Donovan of Farmington Hills as King Arthur and Brian Townsend of Dearborn as Patsy perform in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Spamalot.

Lindsay Frischmuth (left), of Plymouth Township as the Lady of the Lake and Joe Donovan of Farmington Hills as King Arthur

KenyAda Davis (left), of Detroit as Sir Lancelot, Brian Townsend of Dearborn as Patsy, Joe Donovan of Farmington Hills as King Arthur, and Dearborn residents Ken Kilgore as Sir Galahad and Phillip Booth as Sir Bedevere

Ensemble members James Mayne (left), of Farmington Hills, Scott Rider of Lincoln Park, Kevin Talanges and Nathan Booth of Dearborn and Jeff Lokken of Livonia join Ken Kilgore of Dearborn as Sir Galahad and Joe Donovan of Farmington Hills as King Arthur

Ensemble members Missy Marks (left), Nathan Booth, Katlyn Harrison and Kevin Talanges of Dearborn, and Jeff Lokken of Livonia, join Joe Donovan of Farmington Hills as King Arthur, and Ken Kilgore as Sir Galahad, with ensemble members James Mayne of Farmington Hills, Diane Cliff of Dearborn, Scott Rider of Lincoln Park and Liz Kilpatrick of Grosse Ile