I Had to Clap My Hands A Lot
This past Friday the cute boyfriend and I got the keys to our new house (yay us!) So for about 26 hours I was immersed in house stuff: cleaning, cleaning, carrying heavy stuff, and more cleaning. Then I had the good fortune to be able to take a two-hour break, watch an absolutely fantastic bit of musical theatre, then get back at it.
My friend Deborah and I got the tickets to Spamalot! yonks ago, well before I had a closing date, and honestly I kind of forgot about it, what with all the house stuff. I had also read a review of the Toronto production that was generally good, but I think I was a bit disappointed because no one I had heard of was in the cast, and it was too early to have heard any personal reviews from friends. I was afraid it might be a crappy Toronto-tyring-to-be-a-poor-man's-New-York production.
I am happy to be wrong in this instance. We paid a fair amount of money for our tickets and it was worth every last penny. So good, in fact, that I had to take a break from more house stuff tonight to gush properly over it. I only wish that I was not so exhausted when I went to see it, but you can't have everything (besides, where would you put it?)
Excellent, excellent, excellent. I can't put too fine a point on how much I enjoyed this show. If you are within the sound of my voice (sight of my text?) and live in the Toronto area, get tickets. If you've been on the fence about it, jump off into my yard, my friend.
If you are a fan of Monty Python you will like it. My guess is if you are not a fan of Monty Python, but are a fan of musical comedy, you will also like it. I was concerned in the first five minutes because it was basically straight from the movie and I thought it might be a bit repetitive for me, but after that it picked up and galloped along at a good pace with new material and fun musical numbers and before you knew it, it was intermission.
The cast was excellent, especially Pia C. Glenn as the Lady of the Lake. She stole a good deal of the show. Of course, she had an excellent part to play, and Eric Idle did a great job of refreshing old bits while modernizing the rest of the story and adding interesting characters such as hers.
I think another aspect that I enjoyed is the relative newness of the production. The cast was very energetic and obviously enjoying these roles. I think that's a big part of it, too. I've seen plays that the performers can sleepwalk their way through, they've done it so many times before. It definitely helps that this is all still a brand new production and everyone's on a bit of a high. I'm sure their success helps to elevate their energy level as well, and in live theatre the atmosphere of the performance is essential to the show. Their energy was palpable.
But what I loved most about the show was the unabashed musical theatre-ness of it. Eric Idle is obviously a fan of musicals from the 50's and 60's and the wonderful thing about the play is that he's put together these rousing, spectacularly derivative dance numbers that simultaneously pay homage to, and take the piss out of, classic musical productions. Which is wonderful, because you don't have to feel guilty about straightforwardly adoring the cheesy musical numbers that you probably would've loved anyway. Brilliant man.
Okay, well, that's enough gushing for me for one day I think. Deborah will probably be shocked to read this and see my overwhelming enthusiasm for the play, since after the show I basically sat and smiled wanly at her for a while. It was the exhaustion, Deb, I did indeed have a great time and I'm very glad I went to see it.
And you should, too, whoever you are.
P.S. Oh shit. I forgot to mention that it's funny! It's really funny. Just what you'd expect from an ex-Python. Timely, ironic, biting, silly and just, well, really funny. Okay, that's all now. Go!
My friend Deborah and I got the tickets to Spamalot! yonks ago, well before I had a closing date, and honestly I kind of forgot about it, what with all the house stuff. I had also read a review of the Toronto production that was generally good, but I think I was a bit disappointed because no one I had heard of was in the cast, and it was too early to have heard any personal reviews from friends. I was afraid it might be a crappy Toronto-tyring-to-be-a-poor-man's-New-York production.
I am happy to be wrong in this instance. We paid a fair amount of money for our tickets and it was worth every last penny. So good, in fact, that I had to take a break from more house stuff tonight to gush properly over it. I only wish that I was not so exhausted when I went to see it, but you can't have everything (besides, where would you put it?)
Excellent, excellent, excellent. I can't put too fine a point on how much I enjoyed this show. If you are within the sound of my voice (sight of my text?) and live in the Toronto area, get tickets. If you've been on the fence about it, jump off into my yard, my friend.
If you are a fan of Monty Python you will like it. My guess is if you are not a fan of Monty Python, but are a fan of musical comedy, you will also like it. I was concerned in the first five minutes because it was basically straight from the movie and I thought it might be a bit repetitive for me, but after that it picked up and galloped along at a good pace with new material and fun musical numbers and before you knew it, it was intermission.
The cast was excellent, especially Pia C. Glenn as the Lady of the Lake. She stole a good deal of the show. Of course, she had an excellent part to play, and Eric Idle did a great job of refreshing old bits while modernizing the rest of the story and adding interesting characters such as hers.
I think another aspect that I enjoyed is the relative newness of the production. The cast was very energetic and obviously enjoying these roles. I think that's a big part of it, too. I've seen plays that the performers can sleepwalk their way through, they've done it so many times before. It definitely helps that this is all still a brand new production and everyone's on a bit of a high. I'm sure their success helps to elevate their energy level as well, and in live theatre the atmosphere of the performance is essential to the show. Their energy was palpable.
But what I loved most about the show was the unabashed musical theatre-ness of it. Eric Idle is obviously a fan of musicals from the 50's and 60's and the wonderful thing about the play is that he's put together these rousing, spectacularly derivative dance numbers that simultaneously pay homage to, and take the piss out of, classic musical productions. Which is wonderful, because you don't have to feel guilty about straightforwardly adoring the cheesy musical numbers that you probably would've loved anyway. Brilliant man.
Okay, well, that's enough gushing for me for one day I think. Deborah will probably be shocked to read this and see my overwhelming enthusiasm for the play, since after the show I basically sat and smiled wanly at her for a while. It was the exhaustion, Deb, I did indeed have a great time and I'm very glad I went to see it.
And you should, too, whoever you are.
P.S. Oh shit. I forgot to mention that it's funny! It's really funny. Just what you'd expect from an ex-Python. Timely, ironic, biting, silly and just, well, really funny. Okay, that's all now. Go!
posted by Alanis at
6:50 PM
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