The cast of Portland Players’ “Spamalot.” Photos by Rich Obrey
The Portland Players have begun their season with a show full of music, dance and an abundance of laughs, all presented with a lead song that asks us to “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” As a famous song from another show once inquired: Who could ask for anything more?
Soon to be revived on Broadway, “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” the Tony Award-winning 2005 musical comedy based on the 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” has taken over the venerable South Portland theater space for a zesty and zany local production directed by Sean Senior.
Very loosely based on British heroic legends, the Eric Idle and John Du Prez authored show follows King Arthur and his followers as they encounter all manner of weird and wildly funny characters and situations. Monty Python-style surreal silliness abounds as horseless men “gallop” through a (sometimes a little underlit) forest full of hilarious challenges. Bizarre shrub-loving knights, killer rabbits, catapulted cows, Finnish singers and endlessly taunting French soldiers populate a wacky world through which the (not always) brave men must make their way.
Horseless men galloping through the scenes is among the silliness of “Spamalot.”
Sam Lipman takes the lead role of the king, who vacillates between bravado and befuddlement as he is forced to deal with various eccentrics within and beyond his own following. Partnering with his loyal sidekick Patsy, played by Maine State Ballet’s own Glenn Davis, Lipman gives weighty readings to “King Arthur’s Song” and “I’m All Alone,” while duetting sweetly with Alyssa Rojecki Forcier in her role as the Lady of the Lake.
Forcier brings a requisite powerhouse vocal style (her few quieter moments were a bit buried in the mix) and a flashy presence, in both sparkling and flowing costumes by Michael Donovan, to such numbers as “Come With Me” and “The Diva’s Lament.” She also joins the king and company on the uplifting “Find Your Grail.” Speaking of which, all must meet the challenge of anachronistically putting on a Broadway show in medieval times if they wish to reach that precious goal.
Stanley Kimball, as Prince Hebert, leads a campy rendition of “Where Are You,” while the large ensemble of dancers and singers adds support throughout in an array of stylized movements featuring everything from saucy can-can to cheerleader spunkiness to Vegas cool (choreography by Kristen Sutton, backstage band led by Rebecca Caron). References to classic musicals add to the fun when Nick Sutton, as Sir Robin, intones that “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway” for reasons he spells out.
Dalton Kimball as Sir Galahad on “The Song That Goes Like This,” Luke Perry as Sir Lancelot on “His Name is Lancelot” and Logan A. Merrithew as Sir Bedevere contribute to a show that packs a lot of entertainment into its two-hour journey into a wonderfully wacky world, delivering much laughter, song and dance to start off the theater season.
Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.
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