Spamalot
Spamalot, the big-hit Broadway musical spoof with Monty Python roots, has come to Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre for a brief - until Feb. 1 - run. The big surprise is that it stars Richard Chamberlain as King Arthur.
Say what?
The same gay Richard Chamberlain? The Dr. Kildare, The Towering Inferno King of Miniseries (Shogun, The Thorn Birds, etc.) Richard Chamberlain? Why he must be older than...No wonder he made a guest shot on Nip / Tuck.
Yep, and he’s 73. Soon to be 74. And he can still clomp around in high-heeled boots like a guy pretending to be on a horse. He can even sing, which he is called upon to do quite a bit of here. And it’s neither canned Spam nor chopped liver.
That this touring Spam can is a lavish production helps. (Over 100 wigs used!) So does it help that he is surrounded by a large, energetic singing/dancing cast, including some very talented people -- particularly Esther Stillwell as the Lady of the Lake, Matthew Greer and Lancelot and Christopher Sutton as the Historian and Not Dead Fred. Still its pretty clear Chamberlain is the focus of the show. And bless him for taking on something so different from his most recent touring role as Ebenezer Scrooge.
As for Spamalot, well, what can you say? It’s a very silly, popular, high energy Tony-and-Grammy winning romp that admits to being a rip off of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Since Python member Eric Idle wrote the book the borrowing is probably forgivable. That Spamalot derives a lot of its humor from fart and gay jokes may or may not be, depending on your taste and ability to appreciate silly folderol.
The show revolves around King Arthur’s search for the holy grail, the cup Jesus supposedly used at the last supper. He faces a range of dangers and finally finds the thing under the seat of an audience member. It’s all very tongue in cheek, and it plays with the notions of what you have to do to have a Broadway musical hit - "There simply must be Jews."
One localized bit of humor that got the crowd guffawing loudly on opening night was a reference to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s troubles with sales. Our governor has thus achieved a kind of touring Broadway immortality.
The whole bloody mess is basically an ankle-deep pastiche of bits and clichés that works because it is delivered with zest and some rollicking humor of both the verbal and sight-gag varieties. The Mike Nichols has directing credits tells you something about the quality of the folks involved in making the silliness silly.
"Spamalot" plays Tuesdays to Sundays through Feb. 1 at the Auditorium Theater, Michigan and Congress. There are afternoon shows on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Individual tickets range from $25 to $150. 312-902-1400 or www.BroadwayInChicago.com
