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monty python’s spamalot
By:dick kerekesThe FCCJ Artist Series is bringing the 2005 Tony Award-winning musical, Spamalot to Jacksonville. Tickets for the entire Broadway series are currently on sale and tickets for each individual show will be available later this year.
On my recent trip to Las Vegas, I was fortunate to see Spamalot at the Wynn Hotel and wanted to share what you can expect from this musical.
First, let me give you a little background. Back in l969, a young British comedy troupe had a TV series called Monty Python’s Flying Circus and they produced many films, one of which is called Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail has become a cult classic.
The film was re-conceived into a musical by Monty Python’s Eric Idle and the result was Spamalot. He created this hilariously fun, live spectacle, which tells the legendary story of King Arthur as he travels in search of the Holy Grail with his Knights of the Round Table. They meet a host of strange characters along the way, including a killer rabbit, a legless knight, buxom maidens, dancing divas and the Lady of the Lake.
Python fans will be glad to know that many of the scenes from the movie are in the stage show, including the songs, ‘Knights of the Round Table’ and ‘Brave Sir Robin.’ There are also many bright and clever songs, but you would never guess from titles such as ‘The Cow Song,’ ‘Run Away,’ ‘You Won’t Succeed on Broadway’ and ‘Burn Her.’
The Las Vegas version was a fast-paced 90 minutes, but you will be getting the two hours plus when FCCJ brings Spamalot to Jacksonville. Since all the shows are in large hotels, with all sorts of diversions, including gaming tables, slot machine, bars and restaurants, almost all musicals in Las Vegas are done in one act. Producers found it is too easy to lose a lot of the audience during intermission.
In an informal survey I did after the show, most people were not Monty Python fans and, in fact, did not know anything about the films, but they enjoyed it nonetheless. This show is truly a lot of fun. It is a high-class farce that includes some low class humor. This show has all different kinds of comedy, both visual and spoken, and I laughed as hard as I ever have at a performance. Some of the humor is pretty dark. My favorite scene involved a cart full of dead people!
Spamalot had an eighteen million-dollar advance sale in Las Vegas. The show has a seven-year lease and expects to be around longer than that. With 35 to 40 million visitors a year in that city, there should no problem filling the seats for six nights a week for many years to come. When the show opened in Vegas in April l, 2007, the ticket prices ranged from $49 to $99. They are currently at $75 to $l08. The prices for the Jacksonville production will range from $27 to $74 for individual tickets when they go on sale. You can actually get a ticket for less than $25 if you purchase one of the five Broadway show packages that are available right now. The Spamalot that is out on the road now is selling more than 95% of their tickets. It promises to be just as popular in the North Florida area. I laughed a lot at Spamalot the first time I saw it and I am looking forward to my second helping of the show thanks to the FCCJ Artist Series. For more information call 632-3373.