By Sue Fullmer
Coconuts ready! It’s Spamalot, a spoof of a farce, “lovingly ripped off from the motion picture, Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” produced by Spanish Fork Community Theatre and performed in conjunction with Spanish Fork’s Fiesta Days at the Spanish Fork High School Auditorium. This family-friendly romp through King Arthur’s England (with brief side trips to other climes) delivers with all of the quotable characters and scenes from the original movie served up with song, dance, and impeccably timed slapstick. Spamalot, written by Eric Idle with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, has been playing to sold-out audiences since its premiere in December 2004 at Chicago’s Shubert Theatre.
A strong ensemble coupled with a fast-paced delivery, lively choreography, solid vocals, and comedic timing bring the characters to life. The minimal, but well-built and proportional set coupled with multi-media effects and clever moving pieces (can you say giant wooden rabbit?), create a believable space where the legendary quest for the Holy Grail takes place.
King Arthur of Britain (Dan Bigler), with his sidekick, Patsy (BJ Wright), set the show off with a hearty opening dialogue. Wright’s Patsy subtly and delightfully heightens the contrast between his low station and the King’s exalted one. The exchange about coconuts and swallows is precisely, perfectly well done setting the tone for the whole show. Next up we are introduced to the ensemble wandering through the streets collecting the unfortunate victims of the plague. The energetic, quick-stepping footwork and floppy hands of Not Dead Fred (Lizzy Phipps), is a delightful counterpoint to the woeful, turned gleeful bunny-hopping purveyors of the dead cart. Bring out your dead, indeed! The scene with Dennis (Bob Bauer) (who is NOT an old man) is spot on, down to his argument that “Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.” (Or is it?) Dennis, later dubbed Sir Dennis Galahad, is nearly upstaged by his mother (Kara Henry) who tries to coax Arthur to dally with amorous advances.
The Lady of the Lake (Beatriz Melo) has a set of pipes that far exceed the lung capacity that what one would imagine a lady in a lake would possess. Surrounded by her ladies, she belts out her songs with an impressive vocal range, then reins it in for a sweet, tender exchange, fully doing justice to Idle’s clever lyrics and musical score. Soliloquizing and informing, in “The Song that Goes Like This,” and “The Diva’s Lament,” her skilled performance moves the show along while reminding the audience of the fact that it is a spoof. Bigler as Arthur skillfully plays off her performance (and has a few snappy adlibs along the way).
Sir Lancelot, The Homicidally Brave (David Henry) Sir Robin, The Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot (Nate Holman), Sir Dennis Galahad, The Dashingly Handsome (Bauer), and Sir Bedevere, the Strangely Flatulent (Brad Elkins) bring a solid performance to the stage with their singing, dancing, and sword wielding skills moving smoothly from one to the other with easy finesse. Noteworthy musical numbers include “Knights of the Round Table,” “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” and “The Grail.” Their counterparts, the Laker Ladies bring an energetic vibe to the show, picking up the pace and providing a wonderful foil for the ongoing action with “Come with Me.”
One-off performances by Bors, Concorde, Tim the Enchanter, the Black Knight, and of course Sir Not Appearing were carried off with aplomb, and of course exploding rabbits (anyone see the Holy Hand Grenade?) decidedly made an appearance in the show. Recurring appearances by the Historian (Bigler), The Knights of Ni, the song-struck Herbert (Wright) — and his father, the King of the Swamp Castle (Christian Visker) with his penchant for large tracts of land, and his unfortunate guards— along with the not-so-brave Sir Robin’s minstrel ensemble, particularly the Head Minstrel (Karen Grant) with her death-wish dialogue, were delightful. So, “let’s not bicker and argue over who’s killing who, it’s supposed to be a happy occasion,” lest the awe-inspiring Voice of God (Jeremy Showgren) comes forth to smite us.
Filled with flagellating monks, French taunters, and unexpected surprises — all in a family-friendly format — the show was fast paced, true to the original story, and energetically performed. The choreography, created under the direction of Bethany Taylor, was varied and fitting for each scene spanning (or is that spamming) from era to era, folk dance, to tap, to vamping, and jazz hands were all represented.
Costumes (Donalyn Ford and Krystal Bigler), in keeping with the anachronistic theme of the show, were fitting — the post-modern elements working amidst the medieval flavor of the majority of the costumes. Patsy’s get up was particularly well done, as was the Lady of the Lakes’ variety of fashions suited for outings from the boudoir to ballroom.
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Technically, Spanish Fork’s production of Spamalot was spot on, with just a few glitches with the sound occurring throughout the performance (which can be forgiven on opening night). Hair (Chelsea Kennedy), makeup (Chantry Knox), props (Judd Messenger and Heidi Messenger), set design (Chad Mortensen) and construction (Scott Winn and Mike Maurin) were well executed and fitting for the production. The special effects (Richard Lindsey) particularly the flying monsignor, worked with the exception of the timing for a couple of them throughout the show.
Producer Krystal Bigler, Artistic Director Ashley Ramsey, and Music Directors Zach Hansen and Maren Hansen can be proud of this production of Spamalot. It’s a credit to Spanish Fork Community Theater. This review was created based on the opening-night performance. The only particularly disappointing aspect of the show was that the audience was rather sparse, which created a lack of synergy with the cast, however, it made up the deficit in numbers with an enthusiastic response to the performance.
Spanish Fork Community Theater definitely contributes to the fun of the Fiesta Days celebration. With food booths and other things to find at the local bazaar by the library, to the parade on the 24th and so many activities, come enjoy all Spanish Fork has to offer. Spamalot has been family friended with approved deletions to make this show one you probably never see in Utah. Come hungry—lots of concessions and snacks are being sold by cast members. And bring your camera. Photos with the royal and not so royal folk after the show help you preserve the fun you had forever.
Do yourself a favor and be sure to see this delightful romp through a classic tale. Coconuts ready!
Spanish Fork Community Theater presents Spamalot, written by Eric Idle with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle
Spanish Fork High School, 99 N 300 West, Spanish Fork, UT 84660
July 20-21, 23-24, 26-29 7:00 PM, July 24 matinee only 2:00 PM, doors open a half hour before
Tickets: $10.00 adults, $8.00 students/seniors, $6.00 children under 12, $40.00 family pass—up to 6 immediate family members
Contact: sfctonline@gmail.com
Spanish Fork Community Theater Facebook Page
Spamalot Facebook Event
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