SPAMALOT -- How would you define it?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 10:37pm

How would you define SPAMALOT?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 10:38pm

Good luck

[TGIF]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 10:41pm

Python Humor meets musical.

[Ladyofthe Lake]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 10:43pm

A question that just *begs* for people to post nasty comments.

And they will.

[ShuQ]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 10:53pm

Holy Grail with songs. I watched the movie the week after I saw the show and it's surprising how similar they are. But, the songs are great.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 10:55pm

I disagree with you Lady. I believe it to be a legitimate question, and it was not posted to fish for "nasty comments."

[ShuQ]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 10:57pm

I don't think Lady was trying to say you did anything wrong. She is just making a point. It isn't something to agree or disagree on...but people usually do and most likely will post nasty comments regardless.

[Ladyofthe Lake]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 10:58pm

I'm not saying it wasn't a legitimate question, or that you were fishing for nasty comments. I'm just saying it's likely to elicit them anyway. People who don't care for the show have taken advantage of less "tempting" openings than that to express their negative opinions. It's unfortunate, but true.

[Ladyofthe Lake]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:00pm

Whoa, ShuQ...talk about being on the same wavelength at the same time!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:01pm

Gotcha. Sorry.

That's the problem with electronic communication -- misinterpretations can be easily made.

Back to the original question...

[bythesword84]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:03pm

I think I would define Spamalot as Broadway Musical through Monty Python tinted glasses.

As someone who has always adored the movie Holy Grail I was kind of worried I wouldn't like the musical of it but then I saw it and I was hooked, I think its fantastic. Its true to the MP style but it isn't a direct clone of the movie. Although of course it has all the main, well known and much loved parts, it has so many Broadway jokes and quirks to it that it becomes more than just a movie adapted for the stage.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:04pm

I would describe it as a show that, when you look closely, is about as original as GOOD VIBRATIONS and almost as good.

[Ladyofthe Lake]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:06pm

Not a problem. I should have been more clear. I went for "short and snappy," which isn't always the best way to go.

As for an answer to the question...if I had to make a stab at it, I'd say "Monty Python meets Forbidden Broadway."

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:41pm

I'd call it a vaudeville-esque "entertainment," not a full-fledged book musical.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:41pm

oh well, Monty Python meets Forbidden Broadway is exactly what I was gonna say LOTL. Good call.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:41pm

Are all of the snappy comments about those of us who dislike Spamalot? There are various reasons many of which have been spelled out in detail, why some of us dislike the show.

That said I see Spamalot as a well intentioned blockbuster show, with excellent talent and source material that fails in some ways to mix all of those elements into a cohesive whole.
I think the "Forbidden Broadway" meets Monty Python discription is most apt, but somehow it loses the full experience of either once combined.

Is that a "nasty comment" because I honestly am not trying to be nasty?

[Sumofallthings]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:42pm

Silly.

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:46pm

Bravo Margo, that seems to be it. Very entertaining as that style of entertainment as well, yet just not quite there in the end as a stand alone show.

[jmnpublications]

Posted: 5/19/05 at 11:50pm

Spiced ham?

[rclocalz]

Posted: 5/20/05 at 1:01am

I'll define Spamalot as... 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical!

[Jon]

Posted: 5/20/05 at 6:47am

I'd define it as a traditional musical - a traditional musical circa 1925 before SHOWBOAT changed everything - back when the "plot" was barely discernable - just a device to string together a series of comedy skits and songs, showcasing the particular talnts of a popular comedy performers.

Kind of like the Marx Brothers musicals.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/20/05 at 6:59am

Anyone else care to express their view?

[Ladyofthe Lake]

Posted: 5/20/05 at 7:14am

"Are all of the snappy comments about those of us who dislike Spamalot? There are various reasons many of which have been spelled out in detail, why some of us dislike the show."

You (the general "you") are entitled to do that. And I'm entitled to make what I think is a pretty mild "snappy comment" about it, too.

Negative comments, in and of themselves, are not necessarily nasty, particularly when they're well thought out. However, many of them have not only been nasty, they've been repeated over and over and over, sometimes for no other apparent reason than to "rain on the parade" of someone who posted that they enjoyed the show. That was more what I was talking about.

But in the end, people can post what they want. {shrug}
Updated On: 5/20/05 at 07:14 AM

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 5/20/05 at 7:16am

It's a glorious mess, that's how I would define it. The increasingly desperate hoops the plot jumps through to get some kind of resolution may prove tiresome to some but Spamalot never claimed to be the best or the most original new musical around. It's a laugh riot and it has some great songs in it.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 5/20/05 at 10:14am

Jon you hit it RIGHT on the head! I always wondered what those old shows were like, with the latest soprano doing two numbers and a comic tossing in topical humor and well-worn bits from his act and a revolving door of dance specialties and novelty acts all thrown into a "plot" that wouldn't fill a half-hour sitcom.

Now I know. And I thought it was hysterical. And I'll be interested to see how the well-bashed score holds up in 5 or 10 years. I'm anxious to hear Spelling Bee and Piazza, but right now I'm fine with "Lot over Rot".