Spamalot Review
Well, not a review, acutally. Given that this journal is new hat for me - and that the fiancee has now turned her attention to Ghandi on the TiVo - how 'bout a review of a reviewish sort of thing? That do the trick for you?
Here's the reviewish sort of thing. I just got back from a 2:00 matinee of Spamalot at the Schubert Theater in Chicago. Now I've seen my fair share of shows here - mostly just the big headliners like The Lion King - and I know as much as the next casual observer. That is: good singers sound like good singers, good costumes and sets make you wonder 'how', and good writing makes you cry, get inspired, or laugh.
Spamalot makes you laugh and laugh a lot. The reviewish sort of thing is dead on about that. All the old jokes and characters from 'The Holy Grail' are included, plus the dialog is drawn out sommore - the taunting French knight's extended dialog being the best ("I pop my pimples at you!". It's truely hilarious.
What's also fantastic is the new mockery of all things Broadway. While I enjoy theater I get a little confused over how every gushes like a cheerleader over the quarterback every time a show gets a decent review. I can't possibly imagine that there are that many people who truely enjoy the breadth of entertainment that theater provides. I know I don't. But I love sarcasm, especially the thinly veiled kind - and it's laid thick here. In particular is the role of the Lady of the Lake - who's entire role is new and written to be the diva that get's the "SARA RAMIREZ STEALS THE SHOW!" headline screamers in the NY Post. Damn that girl can sing. There, I said it.
What's the reviewish sort of thing wrong about? Well - saying that there's a plot - or that there was any real effort to get all the scenes to make sense together. While I do count Eric Idle as one of my favorites - and one that all should be exposed to - there's no plot here. It's still just a bunch of funny scenes put together and acted out by the same characters. It's still a Holy Grail. And it's still great.
Most interesting to my peculiar fascinations - seeing how the crowd reacted. You see, there were a lot of people who knew 'The Holy Grail' and 'Life of Brian' backwards and forwards, and there were a lot who had no idea, and nobody in between. I couldn't help wishing that I could have it both ways. Both to be able to appreciate the jokes I've seen before as live theater, and to enjoy the whole thing with fresh eyes. I just hope those who weren't familiar with Monty Python caught everything. It couldn't have been made much easier.
Here's the reviewish sort of thing. I just got back from a 2:00 matinee of Spamalot at the Schubert Theater in Chicago. Now I've seen my fair share of shows here - mostly just the big headliners like The Lion King - and I know as much as the next casual observer. That is: good singers sound like good singers, good costumes and sets make you wonder 'how', and good writing makes you cry, get inspired, or laugh.
Spamalot makes you laugh and laugh a lot. The reviewish sort of thing is dead on about that. All the old jokes and characters from 'The Holy Grail' are included, plus the dialog is drawn out sommore - the taunting French knight's extended dialog being the best ("I pop my pimples at you!". It's truely hilarious.
What's also fantastic is the new mockery of all things Broadway. While I enjoy theater I get a little confused over how every gushes like a cheerleader over the quarterback every time a show gets a decent review. I can't possibly imagine that there are that many people who truely enjoy the breadth of entertainment that theater provides. I know I don't. But I love sarcasm, especially the thinly veiled kind - and it's laid thick here. In particular is the role of the Lady of the Lake - who's entire role is new and written to be the diva that get's the "SARA RAMIREZ STEALS THE SHOW!" headline screamers in the NY Post. Damn that girl can sing. There, I said it.
What's the reviewish sort of thing wrong about? Well - saying that there's a plot - or that there was any real effort to get all the scenes to make sense together. While I do count Eric Idle as one of my favorites - and one that all should be exposed to - there's no plot here. It's still just a bunch of funny scenes put together and acted out by the same characters. It's still a Holy Grail. And it's still great.
Most interesting to my peculiar fascinations - seeing how the crowd reacted. You see, there were a lot of people who knew 'The Holy Grail' and 'Life of Brian' backwards and forwards, and there were a lot who had no idea, and nobody in between. I couldn't help wishing that I could have it both ways. Both to be able to appreciate the jokes I've seen before as live theater, and to enjoy the whole thing with fresh eyes. I just hope those who weren't familiar with Monty Python caught everything. It couldn't have been made much easier.
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