A non-stop laugh fest

MANILA, Philippines - Certainly, we are familiar about King Arthur’s tale and his brave Knights of the Round Table. Monty Python’s Spamalot, the musical comedy about King Arthur’s legend, will reacquaint you about the adventures of King Arthur and his epic quest to locate the Holy Grail — in a crazy, zany way.

The Tony Award-winning musical comedy that debuted on Broadway in 2005, was adapted from the 1975 blockbuster film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Staged locally by Joel Trinidad’s Upstart Productions, Spamalot takes audiences to the medieval times, albeit in a little over two hours.

Joel is the producer and director of Monty Python’s Spamalot, with Nicky Trivino as co-director. “Our cast is a great combination of veterans and newbies,” he beamed. “Everyone is immensely talented regardless of his/her level of experience.”

Written by Eric Idle with music by John Du Prez, Spamalot prides in flaunting British humor that was irreverent. The side-splitting parody of King Arthur and his ragtag Knights of the Round Table undoubtedly appealed to Filipinos.

To say that Spamalot was wacky is perhaps an understatement. The musical was a non-stop laugh-fest, what with its amusing dialogue, hilarious spoofs and misfit knights. My seatmate, while watching and endlessly laughing, chided that the writer of Spamalot was probably cracked when he wrote the script.

Kidding aside, Spamalot definitely delivered stage madness to the hilt. Even the dialogue was crazy. “So do you mean that coconuts migrate, when they only grow supposedly in a tropical country?,” asked a male cast member.

 “A big percentage of rehearsals is composed of all of us laughing uncontrollably,” said Onyl Torres, the show’s musical director.

Throughout the musical, audiences will hear familiar names of Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Britney Spears, whom the cast apparently included in their dialogue to update the script. The production also mentioned a local place, RCBC (the building where the Carlos P. Romulo Theater is) or the name of Lea Salonga. Audiences certainly know who Lea is.

“If it’s funny, we incorporate it into the show,” shared co-director Nicky Trivino.

Lancelot was introduced as “big and strong and hot.” The musical’s version of the Trojan Horse was a large wooden rabbit. Only, the latter was “empty.” How the cast members remained consistently poker face in delivering their extremely riotous dialogue was truly silly yet extremely laudable.

Top-notch performances were delivered by veteran artists, particularly Lorenz Martinez who plays King Arthur, Rachel Alejandro as Lady of the Lake/Guinevere and Noel Rayos in multiple roles. They projected emotions that really brought out laughter in this rollicking comedy musical.

The last time we saw Rachel live onstage was in the restaging of Avenue Q, late last year at Twelve Monkeys of Century City Mall also in Makati City. In delivering her song numbers in Spamalot, like The Song That Goes Like This or Find Your Grail, Rachel admirably exercised her vocal calisthenics.

Designer Francis Libiran created Rachel’s resplendent costumes as Lady of the Lake/Guinevere. Rachel earlier bragged that her costumes are better than the ones in the Broadway production of Spamalot. We cannot argue with that.

Supporting roles were played by Domi Espejo as King Arthur’s sidekick Patsy and Reb Atadero also in multiple portrayals. The newbies in the production are not to be simply ignored as they provided satisfying experience with their performance. Dean Rosen was notably in his element as Sir Dennis Galahad.

Rachel Coates and Roxy Alidosa played multiple roles, from sexy cheer dancers to beautiful showgirls, yet they were so effective. Their costume changes alone were more than half a dozen. Their stage presence coupled with their song-and-dance numbers brought rapturous approval from the jam-packed audience.

The Holy Grail was definitely found. And you cannot guess where. One thing is for sure, you will cringe in laughter while watching Spamalot.