Savannah Brooks

Ultimately, the strength of “Spamalot” lies in its nostalgia and entertainment value. While it makes a few efforts to comment on political and social issues, it is more interested in providing a fun and bright production which is difficult to look away from.

Playwright Matthew Spangler ensures that the audience is able to understand Amir’s motivations by crowning him as the narrator, which allows for a deeper look into his character. Unfortunately, this development also meant that the play sometimes resorts to relying on Amir’s narration to convey key story developments that they do not have the time to stage. While this fault is understandable given the breadth of Amir’s story, it removes key moments of hope from a heartbreaking story. Most of the major plot points that Spangler had to stage are incredibly depressing: racist attacks, the rape of a child, and the death of a father. When the moments in-between—Amir’s conversations with Rahim Khan or Amir and Soraya nursing Sohrab back to health after his suicide attempt—get lost in the shuffle, the story’s meaning changes. It becomes about the tragedy rather than the atonement. In two and a half hours, sacrifices have to be made, but they still have an impact on how the story lands.