A Python invasion
You’ll laugh a lot at Spamalot.
If you decide to see “Monty Python’s Spamalot” at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, you’ll quickly figure out where theMonty Python cognoscenti are sitting.
Fans of the great British comedy troupe hoot, holler or scream whenever classic Python bits and characters pop up in this 2005 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical based on the 1975movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” (The book and lyrics are by original Pythonmember Eric Idle, with music by Idle and John Du Prez.)
The French Taunters get a reaction. So do the Knights who say “Ni,” Tim the Enchanter and the quickly limbless yet defiant Black Knight. And, of course, King Arthur and his knightly crew (Robin, Lancelot, Galahad, Bedevere) have the whole Arthurian legend thing going for them.
Yet you don’t need to knowmuch at all about Monty Python or “Camelot” to surrender to the nonstop hilarity ofMNM Productions’ “Spamalot.” Nowa resident company at the Kravis Center, MNMhas kicked off a season that also will include “Company,” “La Cage aux Folles” and “Little Shop ofHorrors” with a musical that showcases its strengths.
Director-choreographer KimberlyDawn Smith, who also staged “Hair” for MNMat the Kravis, creates Broadway-style numbers that showcase the dancers’ technique and flair for humor expressed inmovement. Musical director PaulReekie commands a fine, seven-piece band that not only plays beautifully but becomes another character interacting with the cast.
And what a cast. The 20 actors allwear mikes, but many have voices so big that they could probably skip that bit of technical enhancement. Certainly that’s true of Johnbarry Green, the show’s virile yet goofy King Arthur; JoshuaMcKinney, whose brash Sir Lancelot hides a much softer (and flashier) side; and LauraHodos, whose glittering, confident Lady of the Lake would give the late Ethel Merman a run for her money in the powerhouse pipes department.
Green’s Arthur has an awesome posse in Mike Westrich’s cheeky, politically confrontational Dennis Galahad; Sahid Pabon’s show-biz-besotted Sir Robin; Pierre Tannous’ digestively challenged Sir Bedevere; and Andrew Shultz’s loyal Patsy, the aide who supplies his self-absorbed king with counsel, companionship and the clip-clop of coconut shells as his master mimes riding a horse.
MNM’s “Spamalot” is an often riotous, powerfully sung, wonderfully executed show. Someone with the production posted a picture on Facebook after the first preview, showing an empty theater withwater under a few seats. He captioned it thisway: “The audience laughed so hard they peed.”
That’s about right.
“Monty Python’s Spamalot” runs through June 4 at theKravis Center for the PerformingArts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., inWest Palm Beach. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 1:30 p.m. Wed. and Sat.-Sun. Tickets cost $45. Call 561-832-7469 orKravis.org.