Last night I went to the opening night of Spamalot in Des Moines at the Civic Center. We were in the middle and in the double letter sections (that means way in the back). Despite the distance, we could still see quite well and I didn't feel as if my Spamalot experience suffered tremendously from my inability to see faces or costumes with hawk-like precision and detail.
Missi and I attended the show with some of her friends, all of whom are big fans of Monty Python - one even being a Cornish immigrant to this country. Missi and I were the youngest in the group and the least exposed to the antics of MP. However, the show follows the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail quite closely - and I have seen that movie.
The show was funny and seemed to go quite quickly. The first act was under an hour. They even had audience participation at one point and used local lore to make the show more personal. I was most impressed by the use of pyrotechnics and computerized projectors. Broadway musicals are keeping up with the technology of the day.
I found Spamalot much more entertaining than Wicked -even the atmosphere of Broadway and third row seats can't take Wicked over the hurdle. I would pay to go see Spamalot again, I don't know that I would pay to see Wicked again.
Don't be a tit, go see Spamalot!
2 comments:
Wow, what's with all the Wicked hating? Maybe the live experience isn't as good as I imagined it would be. I have the soundtrack and love it. I just assumed the live experience would be equally as impressive. Hmm...
Spamalot does sound like it was a good time. I like Monty Python in small doses, but have only ever really seen Holy Grail, like you mentioned.
I'm looking forward to going to Avenue Q in November. It's an adult musical with puppets. Yeah.
I don't hate Wicked - hell I don't even dislike it. I just don't find it to be the social phemomenon that some people make it out to be. The songs are okay, but they just don't appeal to me like Les Mis, CATS, Phantom, Chicago, Joseph, or even Caberet. Maybe I just like Webber too much?
Maybe to appreciate Wicked more you need to read the book, which I have not done.
I - like you - am not an avid Python fan. In fact, most of the time I find it banal and annoying. Spamalot keeps things moving and witty enough to not get bogged down in sophomoric humor.
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