‘Spamalot’: The Round Table gets Python makeover

By Rich Fahey

BOSTON —  Once a Python, always a Python.

The British comedy troupe Monty Python arrived on our shores in 1974 when PBS began distributing episodes of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” and quickly achieved iconic status.

In the half-century since, they have never left the stage. On two occasions during Thursday night’s performance of Monty Python’s “Spamalot” at the Boch Center Wang Theatre, the entire theater sang along to “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” The audience aced the whistled part, too.

The fact that the song from “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” was sung at the end of that movie by men being crucified is just another example of the irreverent, politically incorrect, hold-no-prisoners humor that Americans quickly learned to love.

Before 2004, Broadway had never really seen a show such as “Spamalot,” the troupe’s take on the tale of King Arthur and his Round Table.  That’s because a musical that simultaneously poked the musical genre in the ribs while also containing many of the elements of the successful musical was as rare as Halley’s Comet.

Somehow, Eric Idle and company have crafted such a piece with jaunty production numbers, catchy tunes such as “Find Your Grail” and “The Song That Goes Like This.”

They combine it all with the troupe’s signature irreverent humor, evident from even the title, combining the kingdom of Camelot and the food Spam, featured in several Python skits.

The book and lyrics are by Python mainstay Idle, with music by John Du Prez, and “Spamalot” feels – for the first few seconds or so – like a typical Broadway musical. Then comes “The Fisch-Shlapping Song,” and all that goes out the window.

At times, “Spamalot” is crude, vulgar, and offensive – practically a must for a Python production – but it is always totally hilarious. It bagged 14 Tony nominations in the 2004-05 Broadway season, and won three, including Best Musical.

If you’ve seen the 1975 movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” – which, according to the show credits, was “lovingly ripped off” for this show – you will recognize many of the vignettes and characters who populate the world of King Arthur and his Knights of the (Very) Round Table.

There’s the killer rabbit, the French Taunter, the Knights Who Say ‘Ni”, the Black Knight., etc.

The plot – such as it is – has King Arthur and Company hot on the trail of The Grail, the vessel used in the Last Supper. Unfortunately, there are roadblocks, distractions and pitfalls to be overcome along the way.

To make it all happen, you need a cast that is deadly serious about being funny. Major Attaway makes for a jaunty, upbeat King Arthur, always recruiting new help for the Round Table, but also enjoying his socioeconomic discussions with his subjects.

Blake Segal is Patsy, King Arthur’s loyal, long-suffering, coconut-clapping right-hand man.

Several cast members are skillfully juggling several roles, such as Leo Roberts as Sir Dennis Galahad, the brave but very doomed Black Knight, and Prince Herbert’s father, keen to marry off (or kill off) his son, hilariously played by Steven Telsey, who also portrayed a confused historian and Not Dead Fred in the wonderful “I Am Not Yet Dead” number.

Chris Collins-Pisano is a Sir Lancelot who finally identifies his sexual orientation with gusto; he also plays the well-known Python characters the French Taunter, the Knight of Ni, and Tim the Enchanter.

Sean Bell shines as the craven Sir Robin, determined to prove his bravery but constantly falling short, as the minstrel (Telsey again) never fails to remind him in song in “Brave Sir Robin” and its sequels.

Amanda Robles is a silken-voiced, diva-ish Lady of the Lake, who would very much like to see her role expanded while also becoming Queen Guinevere.

The Pythons practically invented the concept of being politically incorrect, and when King Arthur is commanded to put together a Broadway musical, Bell as Sir Robin performs “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway,” highlighting the importance of a certain ethnic group’s inclusion in the process.

The jokes and sight gags come at you so fast and furious you’ll likely be recovering from the first when they hit you with the second.

It is amazing how the advances in projections and scenic design have transformed both Broadway and touring productions, and Paul Tate dePoo III’s work in creating King Arthur’s world and providing the settings for the many production numbers is superb.

Josh Rhodes, who directs and choreographs, has captured the spirit that has made Monty Python so great and imbued that spirit in his talented cast.

So escape from your workaday worries and join King Arthur and his knights – quickly, as the run ends Sunday —  on their quest for the Holy Grail in a “traditional” musical that gleefully and hilariously makes its own rules.

The North American touring production of Monty Python’s “Spamalot.” Book and lyrics by Eric Idle. Music by Idle and John Du Prez. Directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes. At the Boch Center Wang Theatre through Oct. 11. For tickets and information, bochcenter.org.