For those lucky enough to have tickets for the final weekend of Monty Python's Spamalot [2004] at the Wetumpka Depot, you're in for a treat as director Kristy Meanor's energetic ensemble acting company and collaborative design and creative team continue their raucously irreverent musical journey following the excellent double-act of King Arthur [Scott Page] and his loyal horse Patsy [David Rowland] in their quest for the Holy Grail.
"Lovingly ripped off from the motion picture 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'" [1975], fans of the film gleefully anticipate the rogues-gallery of Pythonesque characters and situations that have entertained for decades, starting from 1969-1974 with "Monty Python's Flying Circus" on BBC-TV. -- The uninitiated will have to keep up as best they can and enjoy the ride.
Here you will find the rag-tag squabbling Knights of the Round Table [Tim Griggs, Gage Leifried, Seth Maggard, Jay Russell], The Lady of the Lake [Adrian Bush in various guises], ferocious rabbits, taunting French soldiers, the Knights that say "Ni", Not Dead Yet Fred, the Black Knight who gets dismembered before our eyes, and [of course] God. -- It's quite a workout for the supporting ensemble who play multiple characters and accomplish countless quick costume changes, sing and dance in production numbers, and carry forward the ever-changing plot.
Ms. Meanor is ably abetted particularly through disciplined musical direction by Randy Foster, clever choreography by Daniel Grant Harms, and brilliantly conceived costumes by Suzanne Booth in telling a satirical story that has something in it to offend just about everyone [sexual innuendo, scatological language, cross-dressing, and all manner of things]; but it is all done with such good-natured self-mocking foolery by the cast, that all can be forgiven quickly.
There are also a number of theatrical "in-jokes" with such songs as "The Song That Goes Like This", "You Won't Succeed on Broadway", and "The Diva's Lament"; but perhaps the signature song that encapsulates the entirety of Monty Python's Spamalot is the ever-optimistic "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" in fueling everyone's search to find their own Grail.
