Alex: ‘Spamalot’ will make you laugh-a-lot

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Monty Python humor plays on the absurd. Broadway’s smash musical Spamalot, on stage at Hamilton’s Dofasco Centre for the Arts is a prime example.

Spamalot, the high-flying extravaganza of stage madness and melody sprang from the troupe’s 1975 low-budget movie Monty Python & the Holy Grail. As cast member Eddie Glen puts it, “We go off on little tangents like Sir Robin, the character that I play, has a song about Broadway musicals so it’s a little different.”

“But that’s his dream and in this piece, Robin wants to be a musical theatre performer, so, that’s where that goes.”

This mad musical is a spin on the legendary myths of King Arthur, Camelot, and the Holy Grail. Historical accuracy is ignored.

Jennifer Lyon, the Lady Of the Lake calls it a challenge. “It’s exaggerated, and yet it’s very precise at the same time and Alex Moustakis our fearless director has directed us to keep the precision because that’s what makes it funny, keeps it clean, makes it easy for the audience to understand.”

It’s an on-stage explosion of inspired Python lunacy and outrageousness, written and composed by Eric Idle. “The viewer can’t really know that now it’s being written by John Cleese, now this bit’s being written by Michael Palin, now this bit’s been written by Terry Gilliam. It comes at you from all perspectives.”

Arthur, King of the Britons, a befuddled monarch seeking validation for his station, leads his prissy goofball knights of the round table on a quest for the Holy Grail. It’s a journey filled with lunatic obstacles, kicking laughs into overdrive over a fast-paced two hours by an energetic high-powered cast.

The unhinged plot of this medieval entertainment, mixed with contemporary issues, unleashes rapturous audience glee. In Spamalot, you’ll laugh-a-lot.

The Monty Python mayhem continues at Hamilton’s Dofasco Centre for the Arts through May 2nd.

Editor’s note: The broadcast version misidentified the source material as ‘Life of Brian.’ CHCH News acknowledges the error and that Alex Reynolds is a very naughty boy.

Related: Matt visits Monty Python’s Spamalot