Text 14, 89 rader
Skriven 2005-01-04 13:33:54 av Todd H. (1:379/45)
Ärende: Spamalot review, Chicago 2Jan 2005
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From: t@toddh.net (Todd H.)


This past Sunday, at long last, I was able to experience Spamalot at Chicago's
Shubert Theater.  I'm thrilled to report that this show's got the goods--I've
never laughed so hard in a theater.

Now, as any self-respecting high school theater rat from the late 80's weaned
on Phantom, Les Miz, and lots and lots of Python seen at cast parties and
quoted at any free moment that was barely applicable, this show was something I
looked forward to with much anticipation.  In fact, to properly prepare myself
and my SO for the show, I fired up the Betamax (yes, the Betamax--it's still
awesome) and watched my copy of Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail for the
umpteenth time of delight.  It had been years since I enjoyed it in its
entirety.

Hank Azaria was simply brilliant as Lancelot, Village 3, The French Taunter,
Knight of Ni and Tim the Enchanter.  Azaria's voice can do anything, and his
comedic timing, accents, and inflection did perfect justice to the familiar
aspects of the script for all the parts he played, as well as new bits.

During the second Knights of Ni scene Azaria had a particularly memorable
exchange with Tim Curry (as King Arthur).  As he was informing Arthur that they
"Are no longer the Knights who say Ni, we are now the Knights who say..."
Azaria launched into 30 seconds of riffed babbling capped off by an octave drop
in voice in which he delivered a dead-on rendition of RiffRaff's beginning of
the Rocky Horror Picture show's "Time Warp": "It's astounding, Time is
fleeting//Madness takes its toll."  This brought Curry (whose credits include
the role of Frank N Further in the R.H.P.S.) to visible laughter.

Curry, I'm afraid, was quite a disappointment in the role of King Arthur. 
Though the King's role even in the movie is a bit of a "straight man" role,
Curry not only isn't funny in this role, he isn't even terribly successful at
being likable in the role of King Arthur. His acting performance was quite
flat, singing unremarkable, and his stage movement is extremely labored. 
Deftly, the choreography appears to have taken some pains to work around his
limitations.  I was surprised to look up that he's only 58 as his movement
would suggest late 60's.

Michael McGrath is fabulous in his role as Patsy, King Arthur's assistant.  In
fact, juxtaposed with Curry's flat rendition of Arthur, he quietly teeters on
upstaging Curry in every scene.

David Hyde Pierce as Sir Robin, Villager 1, Guard 1, Brother Maynard) delivered
a solid performance.  Nothing brilliant, but it didn't leave me wondering why
he was there!

Sara Ramirez as The Lady of the Lake The Witch and The Cow was astounding.  She
has an absolutely incredible voice, and uses it deftly to deliver a very strong
comedic performance.

Christopher Sieber as Sir Dennis Galahad gave a strong performance as well. 
However, I did not care for his direction (perhaps the fault director Mike
Nichols) in his opening scene where he delivers the (brilliantly written)
diatribe to King Arthur on the underpinnings of socio-political oppression of
the working class.  This particular scene unfortunately suffers on the stage in
comparison to the movie.  Sieber delivers much of this scene standing beside
Arthur, where he absolutely towers in stature over the comparatively diminutive
Tim Curry.  This makes the comedy suffer when the scene hinges on a serf meekly
but confidently lecturing a King on politics.  In addition, Sieber abandons
much of the British accent that makes that scene in the movie so hysterical. 
Azaria, in contrast, delivers all his characters with enough of the original
accents to punch the comedy, but not so much as to risk losing an American
audience who might not have the entire film committed to memory.  Sieber errors
to much in the "American" direction. To his credit, however, Siebers
Disney-esque chiseled good looks make for an astounding transformation scene
where he goes from having shit all over 'im to the unfurling of his long
flowing locks as the valiant Sir Galahad.  The balance of Sieber's performance
after this opening is quite strong and very likable.

Todd Ellison's orchestra is perfection in this production.  It's wonderful to
see a musical that actually commits a proper number of musicians to the effort.
 In addition, supreme kudos to the sound engineers responsible for mixing this
production.  I'm not sure who specifically deserves the thanks within Acme
Sound Partners (who are credited as the sound designers), but I've not attended
a show where everything was so perfectly mixed, and every bit of dialog and
singing was clearly understandable.   With a cast and orchestra this large,
that is by no means an easy feat.

See this show!

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.
http://www.toddh.net/

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