Photo Flash: SPAMALOT Opens at Theatre at the Center

A massive hit on Broadway, playing over 1,500 hysterical performances seen by more than two million people, Monty Python's SPAMALOT continues Theatre at the Center's exceptional 25th Anniversary Season. The Monty Python-inspired farce of the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, features a book and lyrics by Eric Idle and a fresh new score created by Eric Idle and John Du Prez. The tale of King Arthur and his band of raunchy knights won the Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Direction of a Musical, as well as the Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Musical Show Album. Jeff Award-winning Director David Perkovich and Jeff Award-winning Choreographer Linda Fortunato join artistic forces to put their creative spin on the irreverent musical parody, running September 17th through October 18th, with a press opening on Sunday, September 20th at 7 p.m. at 1040 Ridge Road in Munster, IN.

Dancing divas, a legless knight, flatulent Frenchmen and killer rabbits combine in this epic story of King Arthur and his Round Table Knights on their pursuit of the Holy Grail. The quest leads the troupe to a French castle, into the dangerous clutches of the Black Knight, to a rendezvous with the knights that say knee, and into an intimate liaison with the Lady of the Lake. Jam packed with silly songs to match the action, SPAMALOT features original songs such as "I Am Not Dead Yet," "The Song that Goes Like This," and "The Diva's Lament (Whatever Happened to My Part)."

Starring in SPAMALOT are Larry Adams as "King Arthur" (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and A Christmas Carol at Theatre at the Center; La Cage aux Folles at The Marriott Theatre), Jeff Award nominee Larry Wyatt (Leading Ladies and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Theatre at the Center), Jeff Award nominee Sean Fortunato "Sir Lancelot/Fr. Taunter" (World Premiere of Death of a Streetcar Named Virginia Woolf: A Parody and The Diary of Anne Frank at Writers Theatre; Pericles at Chicago Shakespeare Theater),Jeff Award winner Colette Todd as the "Lady of the Lake" (Big Fish, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and The Beverly Hillbillies - The Musical at Theatre at the Center), Jeff Award nominee Greg Foster as "Patsy" (The Full Monty and Assassins at Theatre Wit; Monty Python's Spamalot at NightBlue Performing Arts Company), Patrick Tierney as "Historian/Fred/Herbert" (LES MISERABLES at Paramount Theatre; The Beverly Hillbillies - The Musical and A Christmas Carol at Theatre at the Center), Jarrod Zimmerman as "Sir Galahad" (City of Angels at The Marriott Theatre; World Premiere of Days Like Today at Writers Theatre), Jake Mahler "Bedevere/Dennis' Mom" (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and The Beverly Hillbillies - The Musical at Theatre at the Center; Road Show at Chicago Shakespeare Theater), and Charlie Ward and Shari Mocheit as "Swing". The ensemble features Amanda Compton LoPresti, Ann Delaney, Kayla Kennedy, Henry McGinniss, Nathan Mittleman, Katie Patton, Steve Peebles and David Schlumpf.

The SPAMALOT production team includes Musical Director Bill Underwood, Stage Managers Matt McMullen and Daniel Hanson, Technical Director and Production Manager Ann Davis, General Manager Richard Friedman, Scenic Designer Angie Miller, Lighting Designer Denise Karczewski, Props Designer Brittney O'Keefe, Sound Designer Barry G. Funderburg, Associate Sound Designer Mike Patrick, Costume Designer Brenda Winstead and Wig Designer Kevin Barthel.

Photos by Bridget Earnshaw