Review Roundup: SPAMALOT at the Hollywood Bowl

The Hollywood Bowl's production of Monty Python's SPAMALOT (which won the Tony for Best Musical in 2005) played last weekend at the legendary venue.

The show stars Kevin Chamberlin as Sir Bedevere, Merle Dandridge as The Lady of the Lake, Warwick Davis as Patsy, Tom Deckman as Not Dead Fred, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Sir Robin, Rick Holmes as Sir Lancelot, Eric Idle as the Historian, Craig Robinson as King Arthur and Christian Slater as Sir Galahad. BT McNicholl directs, and the show is conducted by Todd Ellison and with choreography adapted and re-staged by Billy Sprague Jr. and Scott Taylor, from the original by Casey Nicholaw.

Let's see what the critics had to say:

Michael L. Quintos, BroadwayWorld.com: Overflowing with super-silly situations, clever, amusing songs, and over-the-top high jinks synonymous with the cheeky, often bawdy humor of the Monty Python oeuvre, SPAMALOT is actually a perfect piece to reconfigure for the massive outdoor stage of the Hollywood Bowl. Besides its genuinely appealing, age-transcending humor---from high-brow to low-brow to the seemingly nonsensical---the show offers lots of fun visual gags and fourth-wall-breaking clowning that audiences in this open-air, booze-filled venue can revel in without fear of missing out on pesky, important plot details or nuanced dramatic connotations other more serious shows may demand. Nope, SPAMALOT, more than anything, is all about showcasing wit and whimsy, both spoken and sung.

Gil Kaan, BroadwayWorld.com: Hollywood Bowl succeeds again with their most entertaining, head-shakingly pun-ny, visually stimulating production of Monty Python's Spamalot. Director BT McNicholl keeps his talented cast soft-shoe-ing, high kicking, horse-riding, sword lifting and just laugh-inducing at a steady, "can't catch my breath from laughing" pace. The Hollywood Bowl orchestra most ably led by conductor Todd Ellison provides strong support and accompaniment to the ample musicality put forth by the give-it-their-all performers. Billy Sprague Jr. and Scott Taylor's choreography (adapted and re-staged from the original by Casey Nicholaw) receives excellent execution from the entire cast of the leads (some not-known-for dancing) and the sure-footed chorus.

Eric Idle, Hollywood Reporter: Scenic coordinator Joe Celli cleverly extends his toy castle set using projections on the band shell, which help to broaden a production that could easily be lost in the 17,000-seat venue. Best known for his work in movies like Hot Tub Time Machine and This Is the End, Robinson brings distracted nobility to the role of King Arthur, mixing one part pride with two parts moron. While his laid back persona translates to a calm earnestness that seems all the more ridiculous, his passably resonant baritone voice brings absurd pathos to "I Am Alone", and he even manages to hold his own opposite the exquisite Merle Dandridge as the Lady of the Lake, reprising the role she played on Broadway.

Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times: Christian Slater, taking a break from USA Network's "Mr. Robot," not only made a dashing Sir Galahad but proved daftly effective with the script's literal-minded wordplay. Kevin Chamberlin, winning as the clueless Sir Bedevere, added some cross-dressing panache when appearing as Galahad's mother.... Rick Holmes gamely delivered as he morphed from the French Taunter to Knight of Ni to Tim the Enchanter. But it was as Lancelot that he scored his funniest moments alongside Tom Deckman's Herbert, the prince who waits for Lancelot to rescue him from an arranged heterosexual marriage.

Bob Verini, Variety: Merle Dandridge's Lady of the Lake was every bit as sultry, witty and commanding as seen at the Ahmanson in 2009, and Tom Deckman a riot as willowy Prince Herbert. Speaking of "Willow," evening MVPs and top audience favorites were erstwhile "Willow" star Warwick Davis as an impeccable, narrative-gluing Patsy, and Rick Holmes, whose French Taunter ("you empty-headed animal food trough wiper, I fart in your general direction") nigh eclipsed John Cleese in his "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" cinema incarnation.

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