SPAMALOT Questions

1. Would I be correct in assuming the following formula is correct? Spoof + Camelot = Spamalot.

I have no idea what the title means and/or has to do with the show otherwise.

2. In "Find Your Grail," is WICKED being spoofed?

I ask this second one b/c of the newness of WICKED. Obviously, there are the spoofed classics in SPAMALOT, as follows: PHANTOM, LES MIS, WEST SIDE STORY, FIDDLER. These are all classics that have been around for a lengthly time. And, no doubt, WICKED will be around for a long time, too. However, even though it is a "blockbuster," I just didn't think its opening night was that long ago for it to be spoofed by any group other than Forbidden Broadway.

3. How many shows are parodied and which ones are they (besides the ones previously listed)?

Thanks in advance.

The answer to 1 is: Spam + Camelot = Spamalot.
There was a famous Monty Python skit involving spam, which coincidentally is the origins of the use of the term "spam" when referring to unwanted e-mails.

EDIT: Downbeat beat me to it.

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Updated On: 8/7/05 at 03:08 PM

1. Spamalot comes from the movie line "we eat ham and jam and spamalot"

2. by my count they spoof: fiddler,the producers and phantom but, wicked i do not know? i never thought about it.

lol! Yea, every time i hear it i crack up.

Well, I didn't really mean the lyrics of "Find Your Grail" parody WICKED. I just mean when the Lady of the Lake rises in the huge grail and then her ending of thrusting "her grail" like Elphaba does the broom.

Ooooohhhh...good point! Could be, but it seems a bit "obscure" - every other "spoof" in the show is very overt and obvious (bottle dance from Fiddler, candles and boat from Phantom, etc.) I don't know though...

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Erm... I've never seen Wicked, so I can't really comment on any possible referenes to that, but I don't think "Find Your Grail" in its entirety is supposed to be a nod to it. As someone said- it's just that kind of song in general that they're making fun of.

Anyway, among the other shows parodied/referenced are Company, Man of la Mancha, The Frogs, and Gypsy (I'm preeeeetty sure "Diva's Lament" is a wink at "Rose's Turn," but I could be way off base). I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of any, at the moment.

I never even realized about THE FROGS! Fantastic. What about MAN OF LA MANCHA?

CATS reference? Closest they come is while Arthur and Patsy are trying to figure out where to find a shrubbery to appease the Knights of Ni. I believe the dialogue goes along the lines of:
Patsy- "We could make a shrubbery out of Cats!"
Arthur- "That's rediculous. Where are we going to find Cats?!"

Had this show opened earlier than 2001, the obvious answer would have been, "about three blocks up from here..." But I dunno if I'd call that an intentional reference or just coincidence.

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that one's entirely deliberate, especially since its a lampoon of jewish musicals

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