Reviews of Clay in Spamalot? — Page 7

Tom Deckman is such a sweetie. I saw a matinee of Spamalot, got his signature, and mentioned how I'd seen him in the tour a year previous. That night I went back because I forgot to give a present to Martin Moran, but I stayed away from the barricade so I wouldn't bother the actors. After Tom left the barricade, he went to talk to a friend, and then walked over to me and struck up a conversation. I was all giddy and teenybopper-fangirly for the rest of the night (but I will deny that if anyone asks).

Here's a review I found.

Color Me Surprised: Clay Aiken Is Fantastic in Spamalot

If I'm being totally honest, I didn't go into today's matinee performance of Spamalot with the highest of expectations. Since it had been announced that Clay Aiken was joining the Broadway cast in the role of Sir Robin I've been dubious as to how good of a fit the American Idol runner-up and the Monty Python show would be.

Well color me very pleasantly surprised -- Clay was great!

His voice was, of course, fantastic, but it was his comic timing and his dancing that shocked me the most. From the moment he appeared on stage, he was totally, and delightfully, in character, and he maintained that commitment throughout the entire show. He delivered his lines like an old pro, and completely embraced his character's often quirky movement, footwork, and comic bits, even when they required him to make fun of himself.

Best of all -- he appeared to be having the time of his life. The often irreverent humor of the show seemed to fit him like a glove, and he imbued each of his scenes with what appeared to be a genuine sense of joy.

I was a big Clay supporter back in Season 2 of Idol, but his attitude the past several years has turned me off a bit to him. However, seeing him sing, dance, act, and laugh, I remembered the charming, dorky fella' who shocked us all with his pipes back on Idol. I half-expected him to be stiff and awkward -- instead, he was loose and relaxed, creating real chemistry with his co-stars.
Speaking of his co-stars, the cast is more solid and the show tighter than it's been since it first opened. As Sir Lancelot, Rick Holmes was a hoot and a half, and a more accomplished song-and-dance man than Hank Azaria, who created the role. Chris Seiber has returned to the show, and although he appears to have put on about 30lbs, he was funny as ever playing Sir Galahad. Tom Deckman played the roles originated by Christian Borle with a delightfully deadpan gaze plastered across his face, and Hannah Waddingham, imported from the British version of Spamalot, was perfection as the Lady of the Lake.

All in all, Clay and the cast have managed to make Spamalot a must-see once again.

http://americanidolamericanidol.blogspot.com/2008/01/color-me-surprised-clay-aiken-is.html

Living in Australia, I've unfortunately got no hope of seeing Clay in Spamalot. I'm a big fan of his voice though, first learning of him through discussions about American Idol on an Australian discussion board. It sounds on the whole as though he has done pretty well in this foray into musical theatre, good on him.

David Hyde Pierce Has Neither Advice for Clay Aiken Nor Patience for Us

So what does Curtains star David Hyde Pierce think of Clay Aiken, who's taking over his memorable role in Spamalot? We asked him last night outside the Rainbow Room, before he joined Sutton Foster and husband-wife team of singer Jessica Molaskey and jazz musician John Pizzarelli in a cabaret performance at a benefit dinner for Manhattan Theatre Club.

Is DHP a Claymate? Had he seen Aiken in the role yet?

No, he hadn't, he said, a little bit chilly in a very Niles Crane kind of way. And he very likely wouldn't, because they perform at exactly the same times.

Would sassy, brassy Gotham knock the aw-shucksness out of Clay, as suggested by Ariel Levy's furiously debated profile in this week's New York?

"To be honest, I don't know him that well," said DHP, retreating into an ever chillier, Waspier internal sarcophagus, "so I don't know about his aw-shucksness."

By now, we could see our breath in the arctic freeze he was emitting, but, like Admiral Peary, we forged on: Did he perhaps give Clay some tips over the phone?

"No. I sent him a note on his opening night saying, 'Hope you had a good time.'"

So what was the secret to playing cowardly knight Sir Robin that Clay had to know?

"It sounds like he's doing pretty well in it," he said. "I don't think he needs any advice from me. He's got a lot of people coming to see it, and I think they're going nuts for him."

Yeah, we said, Clay's the kind of guy that screaming women throw their underwear to! Had anyone ever tossed underpants at David Hyde Pierce?

"No," he replied. Then, in a voice so dry our lips chapped: "I'm still hoping." —Tim Murphy

New York Magazine