Spamalot

They were having Plays in the Park this summer and so I decided to attend. I went to see Spamalot and boy was that show racy! It was much more outrageous than I thought and I even found some parts offensive, but I suppose the show is meant to be a bit inappropriate. As I watched King Arthur and his knights go on a quest for the Holy Grail, I was surprised by how often they were sidetracked or how the show kept going off on tangents. It was a good show though, and I vaguely remember a few of the same scenes from watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail when I was sixteen. I loved the songs, too! "Whatever happened to my Part?" for example, sung by one of the main characters who was prominent in the first act and who practically disappears after that. The song is also known by the apt title, "The Diva Song." I also like the song about Lancelot being gay. "His name is Lancelot, and in tight pants a lot, he likes to dance a lot. You know you do." Then there's the song about King Arthur singing how he's all alone even though his trusty servant Patsy is standing right next to him. My favorite song, however, is "The Song that Goes Like This" which begins, "Once in every show, there comes a song like this. It starts off soft and low, and ends up with a kiss. Oh where is the song that goes like this? Where is it? Where? Where?"

There was also a scene where one of the cast members was talking about how one could not make it on Broadway without Jews and the audience laughter died down. The cast member continued to sing a song about it and there were a few nervous laughs but mostly silence. I thought that was a bit much so I just sat nervously in my seat while the performance went on. It wasn't until later on during the show that the guy playing King Arthur looked out at the audience, raised his hand, and said, "Are there any Jews here?". Several people raised their hands and the audience seemed to relax so I relaxed too

I also thought there were too many people for the ensemble cast, but other than that, the show was great. I listened to all of my favorite songs again on YouTube a few days after I saw the show. I actually thought that the cast from Plays in the Park did it better than the original cast. They were much more dramatic and expressive, but maybe it's just because I like that kind of thing. Oh well. I'll see about going to more plays this summer. It's only seven dollars and I had a really good time so I want to go again.