The
Tigger factor
by
Michael Dresdner
“They're
bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!”
Tiggers?
No, the energetic cast of Spamalot at Lakewood Playhouse.
Perhaps
the biggest tipoff to how much you’ll enjoy this maelstrom of comedy is the
fact that the cast seems to be having just as much fun creating it as the
audience has trying to drink it all in.
In case
you weren’t aware, Spamalot is a stage musical adapted from the movie Monty Python
and the Holy Grail, and is pure Monty Python at its best. If you don’t know
what that is, imagine a group of unrestrained, picaresque comics bedecked in a
stream of ridiculous costumes and toting outré props launching pell-mell into irreverent
and silly songs and dances while using the background of Arthurian legend to
skewer every sacred cow they can find, all while dancing on the very precipice
of political incorrectness. It’s what vaudeville wishes it could be.
I
suppose at this point I could tell you the storyline, but to be honest, worrying
about the somewhat elusive plot is like asking how many beans it took to make
your morning latte. It just doesn’t matter.
For
instance, the introduction has a narrator talking about England, after which
the troupe, in Scandinavian garb, launches into a lively, comical song and
dance about Finland while slapping one another with fish. This inanity is
halted when the narrator clarifies “…England, not Finland” and they all slink
away. See what I mean?
 |
| L to R: Coleman Hagerman as Patsy, Steve Tarry as Arthur |
What
does matter is that a large and energetic cast under the obviously capable (and
enthusiastic) direction of John Munn did an excellent job of bringing this
joyful insanity to life. There are too many actors to mention, and most handled
several roles very adroitly. I will call out Coleman Hagerman, the rubber-faced,
Gumby-limbed, half human/half Muppet whose creation of the character Patsy was
so spot-on and outstanding that I found myself always focused on him when he
was onstage.
He was
hardly the only shining light, though. Timothy McFarlan as Sir Robin (and
others), Xander Layden as Sir Lancelot (and others), Gary J. Chambers as Sir
Glalahad (and others), Steve Tarry’s King Arthur, Kyle Sinclair as the
Historian, Gretchen Boyd, Brandon Ehrenheim, and the entire male and female
ensemble all shone in their turns. And let’s not forget the tech support people,
Dylan Twiner, Stephanie Huber, and Kara Zink, dressed in backstage black, who
not only hustled a myriad of props and set pieces, but also controlled the
obvious “special effects” and even joined in the ensemble for some of the bigger
numbers.
L to R: Xander Layden, Tim McFarlan, Gary Chambers, Brandon Ehrenheim, Tarry, Hagerman
With
this sort of production, the unseen are as important as those on stage, and the
support group was well worth a pile of kudos. Music director Deborah Lynn Armstrong
and her excellent pit orchestra, choreographer Cassie Wilkerson, who managed to
make the admittedly less than professional dancers look good, scenic designer
Lex Gernon , and costume designer Diane Runkel, who, like Corky St. Clair of
Waiting for Guffman, created miracles out of a non-existent budget, all deserve
high praise.
There’s
more. Let’s not forget lighting designer Amanda Sweger, sound designer Dylan
Twiner, scenic artist Carrie Foster, and the ubiquitous and scandalously hard
working stage manager Nena Curley who kept the whole madcap skirmish on course.
Finally, a special nod to props manager Hally Phillips whose challenge was more
than reasonable. You all did a great job.
I
suppose I could whine about the few weaknesses, like singing that was just
north of karaoke, but like the coffee beans, it just doesn’t matter. What does
matter is that this cast and crew are offering you one thoroughly delightful
and very funny evening of non-stop tomfoolery, and you’d be a fool not to take
advantage of it.
Spamalot
June 13
to July 13, 2014
Lakewood
Playhouse
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