Metropolis Springs Theatre has grasped the Holy Grail with its lavish, crowd-pleasing and hilarious manufacturing of Monty Python’s Spamalot, onstage on the Byers Theatre in Sandy Springs by means of March 26.
The present is sparkly, foolish, well-acted, well-sung, well-danced and, properly, pleasant. The opening evening crowd cheered extensively on the jokes and bits they noticed recreated from the 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, starting from the flesh wounds to some notably threatening bunnies.
It’s all good enjoyable, whether or not you’re aware of the fabric or it’s new to you.
For individuals who’ve solely seen the film, Spamalot, which opened on Broadway in 2005, expands upon the story of King Arthur and his knights’ quest from the barefooted God within the sky. The musical contains stunning twists within the tales of Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot and Sir Robin, and it additionally options the improbable addition of the Woman within the Lake, right here to offer Arthur with Excalibur — and to carry out one of the best songs within the present.
The manufacturing worth of this present is extremely excessive, utilizing units and costumes designed by Tim Hatley from the Broadway manufacturing. The choreography from Liz LeGrande includes a wild mixture of faucet, Jewish folks dance, disco and cheerleading. The path by Shane DeLancey is tight, well-paced and retains the jokes coming quick.
And there are loads of laughs right here, not simply from flying cows or impolite Frenchmen. The music of Spamalot deliberately spoofs all kinds of Broadway kinds, from Mamma Mia! to The Phantom of the Opera. And the Metropolis Springs present even tosses in native references, together with advertisements for its upcoming manufacturing of Cats.
Performer Googie Uterhardt anchors the present as Arthur, a stable, stoic, daring and pompous kind who performs the straight man to loads of silliness. Uterhardt is a terrific actor with an amazing voice, and he has appeared in three Metropolis Springs musicals earlier than. His Arthur stays regular and unflappable, even sometimes oblivious.
Throughout his finest music, he bemoans his loneliness, barely acknowledging Patsy (Roberto Mendez), his aide who has stayed by his facet the whole present.
Kristine Reese’s Woman within the Lake is a powerhouse. The function, which gained Sara Ramirez a Tony Award, is essentially the most vocally difficult within the piece. It requires large vary and a capability to modify vocal kinds on a dime throughout songs like “Discover Your Grail.” Reese ably takes on this problem, channeling Celine Dion one minute and Patti LaBelle the following. The most effective music within the present has the diva breaking the fourth wall to lament her lack of stage time, and Reese earns all of the flowers she receives throughout her efficiency.
David Rossetti does terrific work as Sir Robin, the silliest and most frightened of the knights. Nick Walker Jones and Billy Harrigan Tighe make Lancelot and Galahad swoonworthy. Mendez can be very humorous.
It’s a top quality, excessive power, enjoyable manufacturing that nobody ought to object to, not even Knights Who Say Ni. Anybody not useless but ought to go see it.
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Benjamin Carr, a member of the American Theatre Critics Affiliation, is an arts journalist and critic who has contributed to ArtsATL since 2019. His performs have been produced at The Winery Theatre in Manhattan, as a part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Quick Play Competition, and the Middle for Puppetry Arts. His novel Impacted was printed by The Story Plant in 2021.
