SPAMALOT: Cow/Witch Songs

Posted: 2/26/05 at 5:29pm

So now that they both seem to be entirely removed and probably will remain on the cutting room floor for good (unless Eric Idle does in fact release the "Eric Idle Sings Spamalot Songs" CD), can anybody who saw Spamalot with the Cow/Witch songs explain in any level of detail what it was about these songs that made them not work?

The unfortunate thing about it is that when I saw the show this week, with their removal it sort of felt like they should have done fixing of those both instead of cutting. I particularly was hoping that instead of just plain removing the Witch Burning song, they'd replace it with a verbatim re-enactment of the scene from the movie. And I don't exactly understand what the cow song was...

Any thoughts? Updated On: 2/26/05 at 05:29 PM

[commasplice]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 5:36pm

The Cow Song was removed because it slowed down the action of the show. It takes place during the end of the first act when they're at the French castle, after the French Guard does "FETCHEZ LA VACHE!!", and Sara Ramirez appears in a black-and-white gown under a streetlamp and sings a song about how she's going to die. The scene has a very French feel to it, but it seemed out-of-place and slowed everything down.

I'm still surprised they didn't replace "Burn Her" with anything.

And I'm holding out that those two are maybe bonus tracks on the cast recording as a consideration for those of us that saw the Chicago production.

Posted: 2/26/05 at 5:45pm

Well, if not there's this:

http://www.dailyllama.com/news/2004/llama263.html

I have to say, even without the cow song, the pacing of that scene didn't seem much better. It was very abrupt, which killed the comedy a bit.

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 5:50pm

The cow song was unnecessary. Slowed the show. Not very funny. It was called "My Last Moo" if I'm correct. I was happy to see that cut.

HOWEVER, the cut of "Burn Her", although perhaps necessary, now leaves a gaping hole in the plot. I saw the Burn Her scene twice in Chicago and, to be honest I liked it. Catchy tune, gave Bedevere a nice introduction, and had a fantastic witch burning sequence. The song needed trimming, the scene needed ENERGY (I love David Hyde Pierce, but his screaming "Burn Her" PALED in comparisson to Idol's own intensity from the film), but that's about it. Now, without it, Bedever comes from literally nowhere, leaving those who havent seen the film completely in the dark. I pray that this will be mended before opening, or else the show will always seem incomplete to me. So many people say "poor Sarah Ramirez." I say "Poor Steve Rosen." He's great as Bedevere and the song, if trimmed slightly would be a wonderful number.

[commasplice]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 5:59pm

ooo, I hope that CD comes out too.

TheatreBoy, it's actually just called "The Cow Song". They don't really get any creativity points for that one. (I really like "My Last Moo", too. That would have been a better title.)

I agree with you completely about "Burn Her". I thought it was a good number, and while it stinks that Sara lost another song (which is what I thought of first when I heard it was cut), I'm more upset that Bedevere lost his introduction. He's not a major part of the show, but he should have an introduction, and the witch-burning gives more background to the Arthur-gathering-his-knights plot and later their introduction as a group. If they haven't put anything in to replace it, I imagine that part of the show seems choppy now.

Posted: 2/26/05 at 6:26pm

It wasn't really so much that removing "Burn Her" made the beginning of the show seem choppy, it just now seems rushed. Because Arthur suddenly has all of his knights (the quest to find the knights seems very quick now) and Bedevere seems to have such a tiny role. He's the only one of the knights who just seems like he has no shining moment now.

And by the way, it made me sad because the "Burn the Witch scene" is a personal favorite; it was the first piece of Python I'd ever come in contact with. And the best part of the movie, IMHO.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 7:14pm

The Cow Song really did slow down the pace of the first act almost to a halt. And it was a bit confusing to see the woman in a cow print dress one moment, then the stuffed cow being launched the next. It muddied up the scene and just didn't work.

I love the Burn the Witch scene, but the song wasn't great. The idea was funny, but the lyrics were repetitve and not especially witty (Sara's second act solo needs lyric work as well) and the song just went on much too long. The song and the staging revealed the gag in the first 10 seconds and then the audience just sat there for a few more minutes watching a very long punchline. It would have been much better if they compacted the entire song in about 20 seconds in a flurry of activity. THAT would have been funny.

I'm very disappointed they didn't add any new material yet after making those two cuts. The first act ending really needed to be punched up a bit more. But who knows? There's still some time left.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 7:17pm

i am SO excited about Spamalot but worried about the Spamalot/DRS thing that people are talking about. can't we all just get along?

Posted: 2/26/05 at 8:22pm

Caroline, I wouldn't worry about DRS vs. Spamalot; from what I've seen , I'm sure they're both going to have their followings and both will run quite some time. And I highly doubt we'll see a "Producers" year from the looks of things.

Matt, can you give me more details re: the "gag" for the witch burning scene? Is the gag the same as the movie, in that the villagers don't have sensible logic? And was there some sort of burning effect or something???

Posted: 2/26/05 at 9:23pm

The witch burning scene was VERY similar to the movie-- the peasants bring forth a "Witch" and they accuse her. It's suggested that if she weighs the same as a duck she must be a witch (Don't ask, it's very complicated). They weigh her, she's burnt at the stake and flies away. I had no problems with the song and I was very surprised it got cut.

I hope they haven't cut my favorite line from the scene: A man accuses her of turning him into a newt. Everyone stops and stares at him. Finally he offers, very weakly, "Well....I got better!"

Posted: 2/26/05 at 9:28pm

Yeah Joe... it's gone.

Sigh.

[playbill_signer_05]

Posted: 2/26/05 at 10:24pm

Both songs were awesome, and I'm sad they were cut because Sara is soooooooooooooooooooooo talented.
The Witch song, "Burn Her" was a kind of Broadway-spoofish song that took place at the part where they find the witch and burn her because she weighs the same as a duck. I'm especially sad that this one was cut because it was really funny and didn't seem to slow down the plot at all.
The Cow Song was cut, I suspect, because it kind of interrupted the scene and it was a little bit long. At the part where the French Taunter says "Fetchez la vache!" Sara comes on stage as this glamorous French cow and sings this song about "This is my final MOOO!"- It's funny. I am not as upset that they cut this song, because it did slow down the joke, but Sara was so awesome.

Posted: 2/27/05 at 3:04am

The Cow Song really did slow down the pace of the first act almost to a halt. And it was a bit confusing to see the woman in a cow print dress one moment, then the stuffed cow being launched the next. It muddied up the scene and just didn't work.

There's an easy solution they could have done for this. Rather than catapulting the absurd-looking fuzzy cow that looks like it was won at Coney Island, they could've catapulted a plastic doll that looks like Sarah Ramirez in a cow dress. Then you at least get that moment of "OH MY GOD DID THEY CATAPULT SARAH RAMIREZ?"

But I'm assuming... sounds like it still wouldn't have fixed the fact that the song slowed it down...