"Always look on the bright side of life!"

So, on Friday I saw Spamalot, the musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The musical, as advertised, pretty much ripped off the movie completely, but after the boring, stuffy plays we've been forced to sit through, this riduculous Disneyfied and circus-like musical was just plain fun, fun, fun!

The Palace Theatre--Leister Square, London

Big, show stopping tunes lightened my mood considerably and the ridiculous antics on stage reminded me of something I’d see during a rowdy Vaudeville performance. It was entertaining to see the proud British ridicule their own romanticized history. However, the absolute best thing about Spamalot was the amount of audience participation. The ‘holy grail’ was actually hidden underneath one of the seats in the audience; on the day we saw the play it had been hidden beneath the chair of a boy who looked to be about 10 years old. King Arthur and his knights brought him up on stage, sang a song about him and made that little boy feel like a ‘king’ for a few moments. Everyone in the audience clapped and cheered for him; everyone was laughing and smiling.

Galahad (aka Dennis) and The Lady of the Lake in a Phantom of the Opera parody.

Everything having to do with West End/Broadway theatre was made fun of; the songs were hilarious. I particularly enyoy the Diva's Lament (Whatever happened to my part?), Find your Grail and I am not yet dead!

"He can finally come out and say that he is G-A-Y-M-C-A!" This was probably one of the funniest songs I have ever heard. I thought my ears would start bleeding I was laughing so hard.

Sir Robin and ensemble in the final act.

Spamalot ended with the cast leading the audience in one last rousing chorus of” Always look on the bright side of life!” complete with karaoke-style words projected at the top of the stage so no one would have an excuse for not singing!

Here's a video to give you a taste; Tim Curry plays King Arthur in the American version. The guy that plays Bradford Mead in the TV show "Ugly Betty" played King Arthur in the play I saw! How cool is that?