Review: SPAMALOT at Starlight Theatre

The current national tour of Monty Python's Spamalot opened at Starlight Theatre on Tuesday evening August 4, for a weeklong residency.  This is my first exposure to this joyful send-up of all things musical theatre, motion pictures, vaudeville, and puppetry.  Can you say” inspired silliness?”  There are more joke lines embedded in Spamalot” than you can plausibly keep up with.

You can’t travel through the arboreal forests surrounding Spamalot without a smile on your face and a few belly laughs deeper down. Not getting seriously amused indicates serious a deficiency to  your funny bone.  This is not your sophisticated humor. But who cares?

Spamalot features a great cast from top to bottom, and I will get to them in a moment.  These guys do a super job of executing on the vision of Director and Choreographer John Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes knows exactly what he is looking for down to the smallest detail and this cast delivers. 

The original Broadway production won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2005, and its gleeful irreverence has become part of modern musical theater history. Two decades later, the question is not whether Spamalot remains funny—it most certainly does—but whether its distinctly British brand of absurdity can still cast its spell over contemporary audiences.

Starlight seats almost 8000 people.  This cast of twenty-two deserves to be seen before it rolls on out of Kansas City after the Sunday performances.

Rhodes directs with relentless pace and an eye toward comic precision; the production wisely avoids treating the material as sacred text. Instead, it embraces the anarchy that made Monty Python and the Holy Grail a cultural phenomenon. Fourth wall breaks, topical references, and playful improvisations keep the evening feeling fresh while preserving Eric Idle's witty score and delightfully ridiculous book.

Leading the company, Major Attaway proves an inspired King Arthur. His performance balances regal authority with bewildered innocence, grounding the production amid the surrounding lunacy. He is part Paul Robeson, part Richard Burtain, and part Cedric the Entertainer.  

Amanda Robles brings a powerhouse voice and infectious charisma to the Lady of the Lake, turning "Find Your Grail" and "The Diva's Lament" into genuine showstoppers.

The supporting cast displays remarkable versatility, often portraying multiple wildly different characters with split-second costume changes and impeccable comic timing.

Musically, the orchestra delivers John Du Prez and Eric Idle's score with energy and polish. While few songs possess the emotional depth of Broadway's greatest scores, they were never intended to. Instead, they serve as comic launch pads, parodying everything from Andrew Lloyd Webber ballads to old-fashioned Broadway production numbers.  These people all have kick-butt voices.

"The Song That Goes Like This" remains one of musical theaters’ sharpest spoofs, while the perennial audience favorite "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" still sends theatergoers into the night humming its irrepressibly optimistic refrain.  (The different expressions on the shield suns are an homage to “Sunday Morning” on CBS.

Visually, production values are handsome without becoming extravagant. Medieval castles emerge and disappear with theatrical sleight of hand, colorful costumes reinforce the show's cartoonish sensibility, and brisk choreography keeps the action moving at a breathless pace. The famous killer rabbit, coconut shell horses, taunting Frenchmen, and airborne cows all make their expected appearances, greeted by audiences with laughter that often begins before the punchline arrives.

Not every joke has aged equally well. Some comic bits reflect sensibilities of another era, and a few moments that once felt merely outrageous now seem more dated than daring. Several recent critics have noted that portions of the material land differently on today's audiences, even as the overall spirit of joyful silliness remains intact.

There are recognizable and loving gags from just about any show you can name.  Funny Girl, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Man of La Mancha, The 3 Stooges, any Mel Brooks movie or play you can name, The Odessey, and there is even an homage to Les Misérables.  There are even pokes at the inevitable dominance of Jews in creating theatre and the number of dancing people who represent homosexuals.  It is all there and all done with fun.

The play begins with a single. young, historian in a modern tweed suit breaking the fourth wall.  He has a thick British brogue.  He guides us back to near the turn of the first millennium in medieval England. The curtain rises and we see a crew of Finnish people dancing around the Maypole in a huge production number brightly dressed.

Our historian returns to the stage and stops the action.  He was misheard.  “No,” he explains.  I meant “England not Finland!”  We get a do over.  You get the idea.  There are a lot of theatrical “Dad Jokes.”       

Fortunately, the performers possess enough charm and comic confidence to carry the occasional rough spot. More importantly, they understand the central rule of Python comedy: absolute commitment to complete nonsense. Nobody on stage winks at the audience. They play every absurd situation as if the fate of Camelot truly depended upon it.

Perhaps that is why Spamalot continues to endure. Beneath the flying cows and killer rabbits lies an unabashed celebration of theatrical joy. It asks nothing more of its audience than a willingness to laugh at the ridiculous—and in an era that often feels far too serious, that may be its greatest virtue.

Spamalot stands on its own, but I can’t help being reminded of “Pippin,” “Something Rotten,” “Young Frankenstein,” “& Juliet.”

This touring production may not convert those who have never appreciated Monty Python's eccentric brand of humor, but for long-time fans it offers a spirited, expertly performed evening of comic escapism. It reminds us that Broadway can still embrace sheer silliness without apology, and that sometimes the noblest quest is simply to leave the theater smiling.

As with many touring productions, the strength of this company lies less in spectacle than in its ensemble's comic precision. If you've enjoyed The Play That Goes Wrong, you'll likely find this revival of Spamalot very much in your wheelhouse.  This is funny stuff.

Spamalot continues at Starlight Theatre through Sunday August 9.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.kcstarlight.com.

Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)

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