Text 22, 100 rader
Skriven 2005-01-05 00:29:24 av devendorf (1:379/45)
     Kommentar till text 14 av Todd H. (1:379/45)
Ärende: Re: Spamalot review, Chicago 2Jan 2005
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From: "devendorf" <rmwright70@earthlink.net>

Is there a killer bunny?  How do they do it?


"Todd H." <t@toddh.net> wrote in message news:m0zmzpng4c.fsf@ripco.com...
>
> 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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