Theater Feb 12, 2014 at 4:00 am

If You Don't Love Spamalot, There's Something Wrong with You

Comments

1
Salad Days by Sam Peckinpah....nuff said
2
@1... yes.

I saw the show the Friday before the Super Bowl. Haven't had so much fun at the theater in a long time. If you're a Python lover... GO.

If you're not a Python lover, not only what the fuck is wrong with you, but you will have no fuckin idea what's going on. My seat neighbor spent some time trying to explain what was going on to his date (clearly not a Python fan) but gave up. Don't take a date who hasn't seen and loved Holy Grail... for your sake and his/hers!
3
I have to say that this was one of my favorite productions of Spamalot. It's obvious the 5th Ave. Theater put their best foot forward for this show. Since you did such a great job reviewing the shows director and cast I thought I'd throw some "cred" toward the people behind the scenes. As donors to the theater, we'd like to compliment the seamless flow of the show and recognize the effort and collaboration it must have taken to put on such a spectacular show. Everything from the costume and set changes, to the orchestra (which took on a life of its own) , lighting and sound crew came together to create an extremely enjoyable theater experience. Come on reviewers lets applaud those other unseen, hardworking faces. Bravo 5th Ave.!!!
4
I saw the show back East; the crowd was about half Python fans and half "theatre patrons" there because it was THE play in town. The "theatre patron" types sitting in front of me got really annoyed when I started whistling to "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" - I got the death glower from this matron who didn't seem to appreciate all of the silliness. I felt quite vindicated when they showed the words so everyone could sing along.
5
@2 - I've prepared non-Python-fan friends for the movie by warning them, "Don't sit there waiting for it to start making sense. It won't."
6
Does someone not know humor is subjective?

Its like those TV fans who feels their comedy is the best one on TV objectively.

And yes I am not a fan of MP humor, so sue me.
7
Is anything as overrated as Monty Python?
8
@#7 Is there anything as pathetic as people protesting others' ebullient overstatements of the importance of the object of their fandom?

#6 has the right idea, though they could be a bit more gentle, or could not bother. I don't go into the celebration of (random fandom activity) and piss all over their shared pastime.
9
I love Monty Python but felt this production was sexist. Only one woman with a speaking role and a name. An ensemble of unnamed women almost always in their underwear. For no particular reason. The unnamed clothed extras were all men-- no reason a woman couldn't do some of that work. The women were either exotic dancers or wistful brides -- can we say Madonna/whore?

Fair warning.
10
@9: scantily-clad women are part of a now-outdated British comedic tradition. Carry On films, the Benny Hill Show and more. Monty Python acknowledge the tradition but add the women in a gratuitous and therefore ironic way. It's a Monty Python schtick. Maybe it doesn't cross international boundaries well.
11
Got a free ticket through a friend for this coming Tuesday. Not that excited, I don't really think Monty Python is that funny.
12
@9, everything looks like a nail when all you have is a hammer, n'est-ce pas?
13
White dude thinks misogynist white dudes are supreme [at comedy, this time]. White dude thinks anyone who thinks otherwise has something wrong with them. Shocking.
14
I saw a preview (not realizing it was a preview, but cheap tickets) and it was fantastic! We've loved the soundtrack for years.

Didn't know Griffith had moved her. I will seek her out in future productions, cabaret acts, etc., because she does have world-class pipes and total commitment.

"Patsy" particularly stood out.

I sat next to a woman who must have been in her 80s, and she enjoyed it ferociously.

15
@10 Benny Hill and Carry On were both criticised at the time (and place) for their sexism and, arguably, neither have maintained popularity as well as Monty Python. My mum is British and I lived in the UK for a few years so I'm fairly sure it isn't a border thing, I think it is a modernity thing.
16
@10 I misunderstood your comment at first. You acknowledged that it is now outdated and suggested Spamalot was doing hipster sexism. Eh, I if you're right I think they could have tried to make a joke out of it. As it was it seemed cheap and pointless.
17
I enjoyed the show a lot.

Yes it's sexist. Idle should have crossed the Holy Grail with the Mists of Avalon.

I liked the song that went like it did, but I found the whole "Jews" thing pretty thin. It seemed far too obviously Mel Brooksy.
18
@9 You have to consider the source material. Yes, the show only has one important-and-named female character...which is exactly one more than the movie on which it is based. And actually, the writers are subtly and cleverly feminist with her character while still staying within the bounds of the humor of the show. She's the only female character, yes; but she's also the only character who has any clue what's going on, she's the character prodding the others in the right direction, she's even the one who calls out the show itself for pushing aside its one female character for the sake of more male silliness. To make up for her being the only female character, they made her by far the most badass person on the stage.

And yes, the other women are basically either sexy showgirls or ladies in waiting. But as @10 pointed out, the extremity of that is intentional. It skewers the madonna/whore trope by being so ridiculous with it. And, again, it's in line with its source material...in the movie, the only women with a significant amount of lines are an accused witch and the spokesperson for a castle full of gorgeous, horny, and desperate young girls throwing themselves at the knights. Sure it's sexist, but in a completely self-conscious and ridiculous way. Which, I would argue, is the creators' way of calling out those stereotypes, not reinforcing them.
19
Sorry, I love MP and Holy Grail is an all-time favorite, but Spamalot was...meh. Saw it at the National Theater in DC last spring and I don't think the issue was the particular production.
21
Gee, I LOVE John Cleese (particularly in A Fish Called Wanda) and Eric Idle, but I can do well without overrated pigs dressed like Fools in King Arthur's Court oinking it up on stage.
But that's just me, Warren.
22
@14:

Greg Allen is indeed a local treasure.
23
saw this at the paramount a few years ago. fucking hysterical.
24
Here's some comment spamalot http://SillyPlace.net

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