Spamalot


Spamalot is a musical with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and a book by Idle. Based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the musical offers a highly irreverent parody of Arthurian legend, with the title being a portmanteau of Spam and Camelot.
The original 2005 Broadway production directed by Mike Nichols received 14 Tony Award nominations, winning in three categories, including Best Musical. During its initial run of 1,575 performances, the production was seen by more than two million people and grossed over $168 million. Tim Curry starred as King Arthur in the original Broadway and West End productions. It was one of eight UK musicals commemorated on Royal Mail stamps, issued in February 2011.
A film adaptation, directed by Casey Nicholaw from a script by Idle, was announced. Idle later stated on Twitter that the film would not be made due to his former Monty Python colleagues vetoing the project.

Synopsis

Before the show

A recording encourages members of the audience to "let your cell phones and pagers ring willy-nilly," and comments that they should "be aware there are heavily armed knights on stage that may drag you on stage and impale you." This was recorded by Eric Idle.

Act I

A historian narrates a brief overview of medieval England. In a miscommunication between the actors and the narrator, the actors sing an introductory song about Finland. The Historian returns, irritated, and tells the frolicking Finns that he was talking about England, not Finland. The scene immediately changes to a dreary, dark village with penitent monks in hooded robes chanting Latin and hitting themselves with wooden boards. King Arthur travels the land with his servant, Patsy, who follows him around banging two coconut shells together to make the sound of a horse's hooves as Arthur "rides" before him. Arthur aims to recruit Knights of the Round Table to join him in Camelot. Arthur and Patsy encounter a pair of sentries who begin debating the probability of finding a coconut in a non-tropical climate.
Robin, a collector of plague victims, and Lancelot, a handsome and hot-tempered man, meet as Lancelot attempts to dispose of the sickly Not Dead Fred. Although a plague victim, the man insists that he is not dead yet and he can dance and sing. He begins performing a dance number, but is soon knocked unconscious with a shovel by an impatient Lancelot. Lancelot and Robin agree to become Knights together; Lancelot wants to fight in battles, and Robin wants to sing and dance professionally. Not Dead Fred revives, declaring he will serve as Robin's musician, only to be promptly killed by Lancelot.
While attempting to recruit a peasant named Dennis Galahad, Arthur explains that he became King of England because the Lady of the Lake gave him Excalibur, the sword given only to the man fit to rule England. However, Dennis and his mother, Mrs. Galahad, are political radicals and say that any king who has not been elected by the people has no legitimate right to rule over them. To settle the issue, Arthur asks the Lady of the Lake and her Laker Girls to appear before Dennis, which they promptly do. Cheered on by the girls, the Lady of the Lake turns Dennis into Sir Galahad and together, they sing a generic Broadway love song. Arthur knights Galahad, and subsequently Robin and Lancelot. Together with Sir Bedevere and the "aptly named" Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Show, a knight resembling Don Quixote who promptly apologises and leaves, they become the Knights of the Round Table.
Arthur and the four knights gather in Camelot, a deliberately anachronistic place resembling Las Vegas's Camelot-inspired Excalibur resort, complete with showgirls, oversized dice and the Lady of the Lake as a lounge singer reminiscent of Liza Minnelli. In the midst of their revelry, they are contacted by God, who tells them to locate the Holy Grail.
Urged on by the Lady of the Lake, the knights set off. They travel throughout the land until they reach a castle, only to be viciously taunted by lewd French soldiers. Bedevere comes up with the idea to retaliate by sending them a large wooden rabbit in the style of the Trojan horse; however, the knights realize after the fact that they forgot to hide inside the rabbit before the French soldiers took it. Defeated, they leave in a hurry when the French soldiers begin taunting them again, sending cancan dancers after them and throwing barnyard animals at them. Arthur and his followers manage to run into the safety of the wings before the French soldiers catapult the Trojan rabbit at them.

Act II

The knights are separated after the French soldiers' attack. In a forest, Arthur and Patsy meet the terrifying but silly Knights Who Say Ni, who demand a shrubbery. Arthur has no idea where to find a shrubbery, but Patsy cheers him up and they find a shrubbery shortly after. Sir Robin wanders the forest with his minstrels, and they encounter the Black Knight, who scares Robin away. Arthur then encounters the Black Knight and defeats him by cutting off both his arms and legs, impaling his still-alive torso on a door, and leaving to give the shrubbery to the Knights Who Say Ni.
Arthur and Robin reunite. The Knights Who Say Ni accept the shrubbery and then demand that Arthur put on a musical and bring it to Broadway, on the condition it is not a production by Andrew Lloyd Webber, as the mere mention of his name causes everyone to cover their ears and scream in pain. Robin insists that it would be impossible to accomplish this next task, since a successful Broadway musical requires the involvement of Jewish people. Robin proves his point in a wild production number filled with Ashkenazi Jewish cultural references, a list of Jewish celebrities known for their work on Broadway, and a Fiddler on the Roof parody involving a bottle dance with Grails instead of bottles. Arthur and Patsy promptly set off in search of Jews.
While the Lady of the Lake laments her lack of stage time, Sir Lancelot receives a letter of distress from someone who is being forced into an arranged marriage. He is very surprised to find that the supposed "damsel in distress" is actually an effeminate young man named Prince Herbert. Herbert asks Lancelot to help him escape. Herbert's music-hating father, the King of Swamp Castle, cuts the rope that Herbert is using to climb out of the window, and Herbert falls to his apparent death. Lancelot is a bit puzzled at the king's actions, but discovers that his squire Concorde saved Herbert at the last minute. When Herbert begins to explain, in song, how he was saved, the king charges at Herbert with a spear, preparing to kill him. Lancelot steps in to save Herbert, then gives a tearful, heartfelt speech to the king about sensitivity on Herbert's behalf. The king correctly guesses that Lancelot is homosexual, and Herbert helps Lancelot accept his sexuality in a disco number.
Arthur begins to give up hope of ever putting on a Broadway musical and laments that he is alone, ignoring Patsy. The Lady of the Lake appears and tells Arthur that he and the Knights have been in a Broadway musical all along. Patsy reveals he is half Jewish, but did not previously disclose this because Arthur is a Christian. The Lady of the Lake tells Arthur that to end the musical, he must find the Grail and marry someone. Arthur proposes to the Lady of the Lake, and she happily accepts. They plan to marry after Arthur finds the Grail.
The knights reunite and meet Tim the Enchanter, a pyromancer who warns them of the danger of a killer rabbit. When the rabbit bites a knight's head off, Arthur uses the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch against it, knocking down a nearby hill and revealing that the "evil rabbit" was actually a puppet controlled by a surprised puppeteer. A large stone block showing a combination of letters and numbers is also revealed.
After pondering the final clue, a confused Arthur asks God for help. A large hand points to the audience and Arthur realises that the letters and numbers refer to a seat number in the audience. The grail is "found" under the seat, and the person sitting in the seat is rewarded with a small trophy and a polaroid photo. Arthur marries the Lady of the Lake, who reveals that her name is Guinevere, and Lancelot marries Herbert, who finally gets a chance to sing without interruption from his father. Sir Robin decides to pursue a career in musical theatre. The King of Swamp Castle attempts to interrupt the finale and stop the singing, but Lancelot knocks him unconscious with a shovel. The company then invites the audience to partake in a sing-along of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"..

Musical numbers

Eric Idle wrote the musical's book and lyrics and collaborated with John Du Prez on the music, except for "Finland", which was written by Michael Palin for Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album; "Knights of the Round Table" and "Brave Sir Robin", which were composed by Neil Innes for Monty Python and the Holy Grail; and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", which was originally written by Idle for the film Monty Python's Life of Brian.
; Act I
  • Overture – Orchestra
  • "Fisch Schlapping Song" – Mayor, Ensemble
  • "Monk's Chant" – Monks
  • "King Arthur’s Song" – King Arthur, Patsy**
  • "He Is Not Dead Yet" – Not Dead Fred, Lancelot, Robin, Men
  • "Come with Me" – Lady of the Lake
  • "Laker Girls Cheer" – King Arthur, Patsy, Laker Girls
  • "The Song That Goes Like This" – Galahad, Lady of the Lake, Women
  • "All for One" – King Arthur, Patsy, Robin, Lancelot, Galahad, Bedevere
  • "Knights of the Round Table/The Song That Goes Like This " – King Arthur, Patsy, Lancelot, Robin, Galahad, Bedevere, Lady of the Lake, Company
  • "Find Your Grail" – Lady of the Lake, King Arthur, Company
  • "Run Away!" – The French Taunter, French Guards, King Arthur, Patsy, Robin, Lancelot, Galahad, Bedevere, Company
; Act II
  • "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" – Patsy, King Arthur, Men
  • "Brave Sir Robin" – Minstrels
  • "You Won't Succeed on Broadway" – Robin, Ensemble‡
  • "Diva's Lament " – Lady of the Lake
  • "Where Are You?" – Prince Herbert
  • "His Name Is Lancelot" – Lancelot, Prince Herbert, Men
  • "I'm All Alone" – King Arthur, Patsy, Men
  • "Twice in Every Show" - King Arthur, Lady of The Lake
  • "The Holy Grail" – King Arthur, Patsy, Lancelot, Robin, Galahad, Bedevere**
  • "Finale" – Herbert, Lancelot, Robin, King Arthur, Lady of the Lake, Company
  • "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life " – Company
**Does not appear on the original cast album.