**It's possible that there will be spoilers in this pseudo-review, so Dad and Michelle, you might not want to read this. The beginning will likely be very basic, but I honestly don't know how in depth I'll get. Just a warning.
SPAMALOT!!! Now the song from Camelot, the Knights of the Round Table, is playing in my head. That silly song they sing while carousing is dancing through my head. That said, the musical was very good. There is nothing in the world like seeing David Hyde Pierce, Hank Azaria and Tim Curry make utter fools of themselves acting like Monty Python characters. It's one thing when it's John Cleese (and you know that he approves of this production by the cameo of his voice in the show) acts like an utter idiot (silly walks, for instance) but quite another when it's not him. Even so, I have to admit that it looked like the whole cast was having too much fun. David Hyde Pierce said that he'd been off the book on this one since, oh, he was 14. (If you're not sure, it meant that he had a really easy time memorizing since the lines were etched in his head from his religious watching of the movie.) Both Pierce and Azaria were very good. Azaria, with his really incredible talent for voices, had the lion's share of parts. He was, for example, the French taunter. (S said he wasn't particularly impressed with that part of his performance, but if you're looking for reliability, it was spot on.)
I have to say that I was particularly impressed with the quality of the songs. I was a little worried about how good they would be, but they were amazing. Eric Idle and John DuPrez did a fantastic job. And the token woman in the cast, Sara Ramirez, was unbelievable. She could really sing, and she could also make fun of herself. I cannot say enough for how good this actually was. Though, I have to admit, it's probably funnier if you are familiar with the movie, and even some of the Monty Python sketches, because there were plenty of "in" jokes. I can only imagine how much better it's going to get on Broadway. Also, I can't imagine how much worse it would be without the three stars. I don't know; it just doesn't seem like it would be as good without them. But what do I know?
The only other thing that I want to mention is the number of Monty Python nerds in the audience. I bet most of those people aren't regular theater-goers. In fact, we were talking about it in the hall before the show, and some random guy (with long hair, dressed like S) said that he didn't like musicals, but well, wasn't this different? And it is. It's for the Monty Python nerds of the world, the ones who might never go to another musical. Pretty neat.
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