BWW Reviews: South Bend Civic Presents the Zany Musical MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT

By: Mar. 16, 2015
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The Knights of the Round Table brought a hilarious production to the stage at the South Bend Civic Theater on March 14, 2015. Monty Python's Spamalot was opened on the South Bend Civic stage on March 13th, and will continue to run until April 4th. This zany musical brought great humor, acting, and vocals from a talented cast directed by Mark Abram-Copenhaver.

Spamalot, with a book by Eric Idle and music by John Du Prez, lovingly rips off the classic film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Spamalot retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, as they embark on their quest to seek the Holy Grail. Follow their manic adventures through dark and very expensive looking forests as they encounter a homicidal Black Knight, the mysterious Knights Who Say "Ni," a killer rabbit, the beautiful diva the Lady of the Lake, and attempt to survive a vicious French taunting.

I liked majority of the vocals in this show. When the ensemble came together as one in number such as, "Find Your Grail", and "We are Not Yet Wed Reprise" I was blown away by the tight harmonies and powerful voices. There were a few moments in the show where I struggled to connect with a single actor because I had trouble hearing them over the orchestra. This show was done with out microphones on actors. There were a couple moments in the show when actors had them, but most of the time they did not. Leading man, Mark Torma, who played the role of King Arthur did a very nice job with this part. I really liked his character development as well as his vocals. Also a shout-out to his side kick, Patsy, played by William Heckaman. Heckaman was the underrated role of this show, and he stole the show, in my opinion.

I was not impressed with the stage presence of the ensemble. I believe choreographer, Quinton McMutuary, had very nice intentions and choreography, but at many times chorus members were careless with their dance moves, and many chorus members were looking down at their feet while dancing. I would have liked to seen more preciseness and confidence from the ensemble.

I loved the set that South Bend Civic created for Spamalot. Scenic Designers Anthony Karpinski and Jacee Rohlck did a nice job bringing a nice, well thought out, set for this performance. Great use of side balconies were used for moments in the show when the French were tormenting King Arthur, or a knight suggested that Coconuts migrated. Light designer, Donald Hunter, did an excellent job with the design for this show. Projections were used against a scrim many times throughout the show and they were excellent. It certainly added a lot to the show. The tech team did a nice job with this production. I was very pleased with what I saw.

Overall I thought South Bend Civic did a nice job with this production. The audience loved the humor that was in this show, and so did I. Spamalot will continue to run through April 4th, 2015. Reserved tickets are $25 with performances at 7:30 PM Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2:00 PM Saturdays and Sundays. For tickets, call the SBCT Box Office at 574-234-1112 or online at sbct.org. Bravo South Bend Civic!

I had a great time reviewing this production! As always, support the arts! Catch me in, "Seussical The Musical" at Bethel College March 26-28! Tweet Me! @AP_95



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