‘Spamalot’ of laughing here
Easy to ‘Look on the Bright Side of Life’ with Python
There’s nothing like a night with the Knights who say “Ni” to make you forget what’s going on in the real world.
“Spamalot,” the Tony-award winning “musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail” is back in Boston for an all-too-short run at the Colonial Theatre. And it’s as fresh and funny as it was on its first visit nearly three years ago.
The legendary tale of the quest for the Holy Grail by King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table has been turned into a big, fabulous musical complete with a Killer Rabbit, flatulent French, a very sexy Lady of the Lake and some smoking hot Laker Girls.
As the quirky troupe tries to “Find Your Grail,” they also manage to take some seriously uproarious swipes at musical theater. “The Phantom of the Opera” may be the one of the first victims of the poison pens of Eric Idle and John Du Prez but by the time the curtain has fallen, everything from “Fiddler on the Roof” to “Les Miserables” has taken a ribbing.
Whether it’s the clomping coconuts, the Black Knight or the wooden rabbit scheme that goes awry, this impeccably-executed production is the ultimate yuckfest. And each time you think you couldn’t possibly laugh any harder, the inanity reaches a new level.
Esther Stilwell delivers a big diva turn as Lady of the Lake with her powerful voice and larger-than-life mannerisms that play equally well to the front row and the rafters. Matthew Greer also shines as Lancelot and the blisteringly funny French Taunter. And Brad Bradley finds the sweetness within the craziness with a delightful performance as Patsy, Arthur’s lovable sidekick.
Contemporary references that earn guffaws include swipes at a potential Secretary of State and the infamy of Dianne Wilkerson. But ultimately, it’s the discovery of the Holy Grail and the big finish that’ll leave you singing all the way home.
‘Spamalot’
Through Sunday
Colonial Theatre
106 Boylston St., Boston
MBTA: Green line to Boylston
$28 - $91, 617-931-2787
www.spamalot.com