Review: SPAMALOT at Casa Manana

When SPAMALOT opened on Broadway in 2005, I wasn't much of a Monty Python fan, but the buzz around town convinced me to go see the show before it eventually won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical. And even though a few jokes (and a cow) seemed to fly right over my head, when the British shtick met the high kicks and glitz, I caught myself laughing until I cried. The star-studded cast at Casa Manana, appearing only though June 12th, might miss a beat here or there throughout the evening, but they are so energetic and enthusiastic that the opening night audience couldn't help but love them.

Although the plot of SPAMALOT takes a backseat to the over-the-top humor used to tell its story (the show is "lovingly ripped off" from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail), it is very loosely based on King Arthur's search for the Holy Grail. Together with the Knights of the Round Table (Sir Lancelot, Galahad, Robin and Bedevere), King Arthur and his sidekick Patsy follow advice from The Lady of the Lake to find the famous chalice. Using some of the more popular moments from the film, Eric Idle (Book, Lyrics, and Music) and John Du Prez (Music) created a song list that includes "Fisch Shlapping Song," "I Am Not Dead Yet," "The Song That Goes Like This," and, of course, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."

King Arthur leads the majority of the show's action, and DFW audiences are in for a treat with Jeff McCarthy in the role. McCarthy, whose eight Broadway credits include URINETOWN, CHICAGO, SIDE SHOW, and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, delivers an extraordinary performance. His portrayal of the confident king offers a perfect balance of sincerity and deadpan humor. It's unimaginable that McCarthy created such a superior performance in Casa's brief two-week rehearsal process; his demeanor onstage is as calm, cool and collected as if he'd performed the role for months.

As Sir Galahad/The Black Knight/Prince Herbert's Father, Christopher J. Deaton once again proves his status as a local theatre treasure. His booming baritone voice so strongly rivals his impeccable comedic timing that it is hard to say which is his greater strength. In fact, he is so versatile that he is nearly unrecognizable as he changes from role to role. His duet with The Lady of the Lake, "The Song That Goes Like This," hilariously demonstrates his charm and wit, but also offers some gut-busting moments, which I won't spoil in writing.

Julia Murney joins the cast as its leading Lady (of the Lake). Her most recent Broadway credit is Elphaba in WICKED, but I've been a long-time fan of her performance in Andrew Lippa's THE WILD PARTY. As The Lady of the Lake, Murney has several great moments that display her talent: a hilarious Liza Minnelli impersonation, some sassy pop-star riffs, and a cheeky, dramatic ballad. Although she absorbed my full attention whenever she was onstage, there's something about the role itself that is difficult to bring together. In fact, after actress Sarah Rameriz won her Tony Award for the role (and then ran to L.A. for a long stint on Grey's Anatomy), not one replacement actress, including Marin Mazzie and Lauren Kennedy, managed to match Rameriz' effortless approach to the understated comedy. It certainly didn't help that Murney's microphone also cut out multiple times during the show, most notably at the end of the epic "Find Your Grail."

Casa's stage is currently packed with tons of top-notch talent, but two supporting characters manage to become two of the brightest stars: Robb Sapp (Broadway's WICKED, SHREK, THE LION KING) and John Garry (SPAMALOT National Tour). Both actors take advantage of several scene-stealing moments, leaving the audience in hysterics. As King Arthur's unappreciated accomplice, Robb Sapp's Patsy might be a few coconuts short of a bunch, but his subtle approach in "I'm All Alone" is heartwarming and priceless. As Not Dead Fred, Prince Herbert (and several other characters), John Garry nearly steals the show. When Herbert's father tries to arrange his marriage to a local princess, Herbert's rebuttal draws by far the biggest laughs from the audience. When he teams up with Mike Disalvo on "His Name Is Lancelot," the opening night audience was rolling in the aisles.

The show does occasionally lose its footing, particularly in its dance scenes. Although choreography, by Jeremy Dumont, is eye-catching and engaging, at times it seems set for the dancers he envisioned verses the (highly talented) dancers hired. This is likely not the fault of Dumont, but of the hurried Casa schedule. Several of the male dancers struggle with the tap dancing that opens Act Two (despite their audible tap rehearsal backstage at intermission). All but two of the gifted ensemble ladies also seem to struggle when required to leap across the stage, which drastically takes away from several high-energy production numbers. Still, Dumont's staging conveys an infectious energy, and keeps the show running on all four cylinders.

Director Hunter Foster (a Tony Award-nominated actor himself) wisely assembled a strong cast of comedic actors, and somehow managed to rapidly guide them through the zany Monty Python genre. With such a whirlwind rehearsal process, Foster's ability to keep the twenty actors confident in such a unique style of humor is quite impressive. In fact, it's often when Foster's own humor is thrown into the mix (with modern references from Siri to Taylor Swift), that the crowd offers the liveliest support. The show otherwise follows the original New York design and, although the inherent humor remains, a number of sight gags and puns feel stale, with the company trying hard to recreate a moment or two that may have gotten lost in translation. Nevertheless, Foster manages to deliver a polished staging, never allowing any imbalance between the Broadway talent and local artists.

There's generally a large gap in the type of person who responds to Monty Python and those who tend to enjoy Broadway musicals, but SPAMALOT certainly succeeds in building a solid bridge between the two. And even if every moment isn't a home run, this cast plays their heart out and ends up winning the game. SPAMALOT runs June 4th through June 12th at Casa Manana in Fort Worth. For tickets and more information, visit www.CasaManana.org.

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