It’s fair to say that “Spamalot” was not on many bingo cards as a musical must-see more than 20 years after its stage debut.
The adaptation of the 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” does have the cult cache of the British comedy troupe, as well as a clutch of durable one-liners — up to and including passing gas in one’s general direction. But it’s just enough on the other side of the silly line to not expect it be considered a theater staple along the lines of “Les Misérables” or “The Phantom of the Opera.” Or even “The Sound of Music.”
Clearly, however, the Tony Award-winning piece has had a long run on the bright side of life.
Those jokes, along with batch of fun songs and timeless cultural references, do indeed ensure that “Spamalot” works as well now as it’s ever been. Penned by Python’s Eric Idle with John Du Prez, and cherry-picking tunes from “Holy Grail” and “The Life of Brian” in addition to original material, the current edition of the show — at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre through Saturday, Jan. 31 — is an enormously entertaining and boundary-pushing farcical romp, clever from start to finish. Its sustained popularity has created moments of audience participation — reciting lines, singing (and whistling) along to the songs, even clacking together coconut halves to replicate the gallop of horses.
It also wins with its knowing, referential tone; “Spamalot” is a show about being a show as much as it tells of the quest for the Holy Grail — which, as we know after all these years, is ultimately found under an aisle seat in the theater’s center section, with that patron brought on stage to be serenaded by King Arthur and his knights. There’s even a moment where the cast sings about “The Song That Goes Like This” and what happens “Twice in Every Show,” while the Lady of the Lake’s “Diva’s Lament (Whatever Happened to My Part?)” brings out the hankeys — although the tears are from laughter more lamentation.
And “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway,” like so much of “Spamalot,” salutes Jewish contributions to the theater world in its own line-treading way.
The show also works because it remains current; as an out-of-the-closed Lancelot married Prince Herbert at the end of the show,. he notes that “in 1,000 years, this will still be controversial.” In the current incarnation, meanwhile, gestures and lingo have been updated, and references to disgraced politician George Santos and Kesha’s 2010 “TiK ToK” reference to P. Diddy have been incorporated into the script. It also scores with added local references, from Aretha Franklin and Little Caesars to snippets of the Temptations’ “My Girl,” Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and local composer Dan Yessian’s Dittrich Furs jingle.
Up-to-date video technology, meanwhile, gives this “Spamalot” a shimmer that’s brighter than ever.
There’s seldom a moment without a laugh, and this production’s cast delivers those moments with tight timing and the infectious exuberance of players who are having as much fun as the audience. Most of the actors take on multiple roles and work with such ensemble balance that few are singular standouts. That said, Amanda Robles as the Lady of the Lake and, later, Guinevere, nails the persona of haughty diva and sings the roof off the theater during the power ballad “Find Your Grail” and “Diva’s Lament.” Sean Bell is a steady King Arthur, and Chris Collins-Pisano deserves MVP credits for deftly handling Lancelot, Tim the Enchanter, a Knight of Ni and especially the French Taunter at the end of Act I.
Steven Telsey, too, capably juggles roles as diverse as the historian/narrator, a French mime and puppeteer who gives the Killer Rabbit some genuine personality before the Holy Hand Grenade shows us just how physically fit Telsey looks in nothing but an athletic supporter.
Some patrons may be offended by one joke or another, but rest assured it quickly passes on to the next one and impresses with its daring and irreverence. And how many shows really leave us whistling, or at least trying to, as we exit the theater?
“Monty Python’s Spamalot” runs through Saturday, Jan. 31 at the Fisher Theatre, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit. 313-872-1000 or broadwayindetroit.com.
