Spamalot Tour last night...

I saw the show on the 2nd, and I did not like it. I thought the show was very good, but the actors and actresses voices could not fill out the score. Pia being one of the main ones. Her soprano was not very easy on the ears, yet she did really blow me away with her Act 2 solo.

I don't know, maybe it was just me. But congrads to her none the less, I could tell she was giving it her all.

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I remember seeing Pia a while ago (last summer?) and I thought she was horrible. Her Diva's Lament left much to be desired. Perhaps I was just accustomed to Sara's rendition on the OBCR but Pia wasn't even comparable in my opinion.

I saw Pia in March, and though I'd never seen the show before then, I thought she did a bad job of playing the Lady of the Lake. She didn't seem over-the-top enough for me, and her vocals hurt my ears. Didn't make them bleed, but pretty close.

I dont think there really is a score to fill out in Spamalot. It's a heavy acting show. You dont need to have amazing vocals. I think the only one who needs to be decent is Lady of the Lake, which I think Pia was. yeah, shes no sara ramirez. But she did a FINE job of making it her own.

A few people have said that they are "used to Sara Ramirez's voice." So if you are biased towards her voice and how she acts, you're going to be disappointed with the other actresses who step into the role.

I've only seen Pia Glenn and Lauren Kennedy in the role, both who have gotten somewhat mediocre reviews on this board. Ironically, some of these people who gave the so-so reviews are also accustomed to Sara's rendition. Sara's performance was obviously mind-blowing (again, I haven't seen her perform live, so I cannot fully judge, but I have seen numerous videos of her), and she even won the Tony.

As someone who hasn't seen Sara's whole take on the role, I enjoyed Lauren and Pia's renditions. Yes, Lauren may not have had the voice Sara had, but she had a softer take on the role and exuded a sort of elegance that was enjoyable to watch onstage. And with Pia, I enjoyed her "don't mess with me" attitude and thought she did fine in the role, though I sort of agree that the other cast members outshined her and she left something to be desired. Overall, there was nothing terribly wrong with any of these women's performances. It's just a matter of how accepting you are to someone's take on the role, and I think a lot of viewers expect every Lady of the Lake to act and sing just like Sara.

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Updated On: 5/8/07 at 10:23 AM

Esther Stilwell, the understudy, has been promoted. Her voice was fine, but I don't think she had enough of a diva attitude. When she used it, it was great. Patrick Huesinger (Lancelot) and Robert Petkoff (Lancelot) were the stand-outs for me.

I just saw the tour here in Houston. Esther Stilwel was excellent as the Lady of the Lake. I actually liked her BETTER than Sara Ramirez (gasp!). Yep - I think her voice was stronger.

The entire show was great and I've never seen the original movie - and I still enjoyed it. Great mindless fun!

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I'll be seeing this soon, so thanks for the reviews!

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Interesting comments Millie. I haven't seen the Broadway production, but I saw the London production twice, once in previews. I was familiar with the music as I had been given the Cast Recording for my birthday, so I was familiar with Sara's voice. However, Hannah Waddingham, who play the Lady of the Lake in London, just completely impressed me. I actually liked her voice much better than the one on the CD.

Updated On: 1/4/08 at 08:10 AM

Okay more about the TOUR in Washington DC...

The cast:
Christopher Sutton was very funny and a really great danceer as NOT DEAD FRED and as Prince Herbert. I really enjoyed him very much.
Michael Siberry as King Arthur had a great singing voice and was very good in his timing. I noticed that he played off the other actors very well.
James Beaman is and was adorable as Sir Robin. (He is the one that my partner thought was really cute!) He was excellent and did a great job with "You Won't Suceed on Broadway"... how he did all that singing and dancing and praning around and then just kept going.. (but then again I am not a peite person so that would have exhausted me...)
Patrick Heusinger was a laugh as Sir Lancelot when he started to get the homo-moments when he rescued Prince Herbert and then came out...
Ben Davis was really very good as Sir Dennis. He had a much deeper voice then I expected when he sang but it was very nice and rich and full.
The lady in the lake... let me repeat that i am a HUGE ENORMOUS fan and totally and madly in love with Sara Ramirez so I have to say no one could possibly play the lady of the lake like her... so I was dissapointed with Esther Stilwell as TLITL. My partner thought she was excellent. I will say she grew on me mand by the end she was better but again, maybe she was just having an off day but I did feel she walked thru the big 2nd act number "Diva's Lament"-- it was a bit of a downer.
The rest of the cast was full of energy and some of the jokes where so funny that I felt that I lost a couple of others as I was laughing so hard.
One thing that I have to say was.. I noticed a LOT of jewish people in the audience... andd if you want to ask how I knew.. they had their yarmulka on.. and the biggest laugh of the night was not the Broadway number but when patsy admited he was jewish and king arthur wanted to know why he had not told him this... I will not ruin it but the answer is HYSTERICAL and so damn funny! It got a roar of approval and applause.

Okay the orchesta... very good. The sound was excellent. I was very very pleased with them. Felt like i was listening to the cd.
Anyone want to know anything else just let me know

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