We take a look at what is being said about this Broadway revival, directed and choreographed by Josh Rhodes.
Simonparrismaninchair.com: “Making a significant career leap with justifiable confidence, Josh Rhodes performs double duty as director and choreographer, delivering an effortless flow of splashy song and dance, balanced with sharp character comedy work and crisp story telling.”
Variety: “The production’s overdesign is a symptom of the broader problem, which is a lack of ingenuity in favor of sheer excess. It is a paradox of throwing money onstage that it can easily come at the expense of creativity. There may be a way to reanimate “Spamalot,” and for Monty Python’s random surrealism to infect a new generation and confront the current moment. But that grail is not to be found here.”
The Stage: ** “Monty Python musical, from director and choreographer Josh Rhodes, feels outdated and undernourished.”
The New York Times: “Throughout, Rhodes has encouraged the cast to personalize the material and, in many cases, enhance it. Taran Killam, expert as Lancelot and several of the quirkiest supporting characters, gives the French taunter not only the requisite outrageous accent but also a raspberry aria worthy of Mozart. In turn, when he sneers “I blow my nose at you, so-called Arthur-king, you and all your silly English knnnniggets,” Arthur and Sir Galahad (Nik Walker) do a brilliant triple take — they are Black.”
Deadline: “Perfectly cast and splendidly performed, with Josh Rhodes’ deceptively no-frills direction (and choreography) placing the irresistible goings-on front and center, the revival has lost none of the smart-dumb charm of either the original musical or its great source of inspiration – the beloved 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
New York Post: “The best addition to this “Spamalot,” though, is “SpongeBob the Musical” actor Ethan Slater as the frustrated historian, wimpy Prince Herbert, the killer bunny and a spate of other weirdos. The Python style of comedy is much bigger than punchlines. It’s all at once bizarre, class-clowny, ridiculous and bold — qualities that come naturally to an actor who once played a talking sponge. He’s a riot.”
Time Out: **** “True, this production lacks the outsider pedigree of Mike Nichols’s 2005 version, whose faintly above-it-all attitude (which extended to the expert performances of top-billed stars Tim Curry, David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria) was part of its appeal to audiences that were tentatively rediscovering the pleasure of musicals in a post-Producers world. But Rhodes’s cast of show-tune pros is highly capable, and the show’s laughter now seems more like it’s coming from inside the Broadway house.”
Vulture.com: “The real secret of Spamalot’s welcoming, throw-it-all-at-the-wall spirit is that the show is what you would get if you gave a community theater a couple of million dollars. The doubling of the central cast is a big part of this ethos. Yes, the production has an inexhaustible ensemble (whose costume racks filled with Jen Caprio’s bonanza of sequins, feathers, and chain mail must be a mile long), but there’s a certain scrappy energy in keeping Slater, Urie, Killam, Walker, and Smagula Whac-A-Mole-ing between parts, presumably leaving a trail of hats, wigs, and doublets backstage.”
The Wrap: “However, the comedy often comes to life whenever a handful of performers grab the spotlight. In addition to Kritzer, they are Christopher Fitzgerald (a put-upon sidekick), Ethan Slater (a puckish prince), Michael Urie (a nonviolent knight) and Nik Walker (a studly knight).”
Slant Magazine: “So if, sometimes, the best reason to revive a musical is simply to introduce old jokes to a new generation, this may be a Spamalot most enjoyed by those discovering the material, unencumbered by the mores of the past, for the first time.”
New York Stage Review: **** “James Monroe Iglehart brings a robust bonhomie to the role of King Arthur, that benighted idealist: it’s fun to track the actor twinkling with sheer delight. Christopher Fitzgerald shines steadily as Arthur’s faithful lackey Patsy, who’s charged with clopping coconut halves to simulate hoofbeats, among other vital tasks.”
To find out more and to book tickets visit: https://spamalotthemusical.com/