By Jack Zink
Posted January 11 2007
The rowdy, rude comedy that is Monty Python's Spamalot is all sizzle, no fizzle in the national tour that's browbeating audiences at the Broward Center through Jan. 21. History, religion, social mores and every branch of show business is peppered with comic buckshot in this live stage takeoff of the popular British film and TV series.
Broadway has always had most fun when gazing at its own navel, and there's been much of that in recent years. But the energy hasn't always been sustainable when star power it's built around leaves, or when the shows themselves stray from the in-the-know audiences of the Broadway neighborhood.
Spamalot has a much broader constituency, fans of the irreverent and absurd Python canon who exist almost everywhere. Too, this touring production has a well balanced and comically intuitive ensemble, all of whom can sing and dance to Casey Nicholaw's lively choreography as well as Mike Nichols' exacting direction, giving the material a more consistent zing than the 2005 Tony Award winning musical's original cast.
As the show's subtitle makes clear, Spamalot is "lovingly ripped off from the 1975 motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Original Pythoner Eric Idle has written the book and lyrics with music by himself and long-time collaborator John Du Prez. Python creator John Cleese also is represented as the voice of God, who orders King Arthur and his knights on a quest for the Grail.
Spamalot's first act tends to follow the original film in spirit, with the addition of a starring role for the Lady of the Lake, complete with a chorus of Laker Girls. After having roasted English literature, the music hall and Las Vegas floor shows, Spamalot turns his attention to musical theater, inventing a subplot for Act Two when Arthur is given another challenge, to put on a Broadway show.
Michael Siberry is a subtle and effective humorist as Arthur, leading his Knights of the Round Table much like a conductor over an orchestra. His presence is never dimmed by Pia Glenn in the vocal flamethrower role of the Lady of the Lake, who parodies every level of diva-dom.
The music ranges from the male chorus's cheery Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (actually from Life of Brian), to Glenn's savagery of pop opera via The Song That Goes Like This.
Gemlike featured performances too numerous to mention include Robert Petkoff as Sir Robin leading a chorus line, Christopher Sutton singing a dirge as a plague victim and Jeff Dumas as Arthur's sidekick Patsy in repeated colorful punctuation.
