Quite a Bit of Spam

And I man that in a good way.

After finishing our chores and grabbing a bite to eat to discuss our collegiate years, we rushed back home to change for a quick drive North to Los Angeles to see Monty Python's Spamalot. We left early, around 6PM, believing that with LA traffic, we would just barely make it to the theater on time. But no. We arrived with an hour to spare. And found parking without any difficulties. So we did what any other guest at the Music Center would do -- spent almost $20 on a brownie, a turnover and two bottles of Orangina. I guess they hadn't heard about the recession....

We ate our desserts, wandered about outside for some time then finally handed over our tickets to get into the theater. As we were walking in, a man walked out wearing Killer Bunny Slippers with big fangs and cutesy eyes so we headed for the Spamalot merchandise. Stuffed rabbits, a complete miniature cow tossing game, t-shirts, CDs, books, light-up necklaces -- enough schwag to choke a horse. I added a souvenir brochure to my growing collection while Caesar opted for the Killer Bunny Hand Puppet. We then happily found our seats in the center of the mezzanine and leafed through the programs until showtime.

For those who have never seen "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", stop reading, rent a copy immediately and watch it. go ahead; I'll wait.

Shoo!

Back? Okay.... Take what you've just seen, throw in a few extra numbers, a plotline about having to stage a Broadway show in order to pass through a forest, steal a song from another Monty Python film, and you've got Spamalot, one of the funniest shows I've seen in a long time. And I mean rocking-in-my-chair-with-my-eyes-squeezed-tight-because-my-sides-hurt-from-laughing-too-hard funny. All those classic scenes from the film -- the plague victim who isn't dead yet, the French taunter who "farts in your general direction", the Knights Who Say Ni, and the Black "It's Just a Flesh Wound" Knight -- seemed incredibly fresh and even funnier than I remembered. The entire cast was superb: John O'Hurley as King Arthur, Rick Holmes as a very fey Sir Lancelot, Ben Davis as the narcissistic Sir Dennis Galahad, James Beaman as the easily frightened Sir Robin, Christopher Sutton as Not Yet Dead Fred/Prince Herbert, Jeff Dumas as King Arthur's "horse" Patsy, and of course, Merle Dandridge as the diva Lady of the Lake. They had so much fun with the songs and with each other -- the scene where the French taunt King Arthur is truly one of the funniest things ever devised -- and the audience laughed right along with them.

I doubt we've had as good a time at the theater in quite a while. We continued talking and laughing about the show as we left the theater, walked a few blocks to the underground parking, rode the elevator, sped along the freeway and then more the next day.

Image from the Spamlot website.