'Spamalot' Returns on Tour In SF, With a Few Extra Timely References

"For Monty Python fans, this stuff is ageless and forever witty. The show opens with an in-joke for true fans—a narrator announces that the show is set in medieval England, but then the lights come up on the ensemble doing a song about Finland, 'The Fisch Schlapping Song,' complete with prop fish and slapping, which is framed as a brief misunderstanding."

"The song, written by fellow Monty Python member Michael Palin, actually comes from released in 1980, and it's the only one in the show not written by Idle with frequent Python collaborator John Du Prez—who also composed music for and And much of the show continues this silliness, recycling and restaging jokes and vignettes from the film, including classic bits like 'Where'd you get that coconut?', the Black Knight, and 'The Knights Who Say 'Ni''."

"The revival of, both on Broadway in 2023 and now on tour, seems geared toward both longtime fanboys (and girls) of Monty Python, and to younger fans of the aging British troupe who perhaps came to the movies on streaming platforms in recent years via clips on social media and were too young to have seen in its first go-round."

Eric Idle's musical adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which premiered on Broadway in 2005 and was revived in 2023, successfully translates the troupe's absurdist comedy to the stage. The production targets both longtime Monty Python devotees and younger fans who discovered the group through social media and streaming platforms. The show opens with an in-joke featuring a narrator announcing medieval England before the ensemble performs "The Fisch Schlapping Song" by Michael Palin from the 1980 film. Most music is composed by Idle and John Du Prez. The production recycles classic bits from the original film, including the Black Knight, the Knights Who Say 'Ni', and 'Where'd you get that coconut?', transforming many into musical numbers. Amanda Robles plays the Lady of the Lake, the show's only female character performed by a woman.

Read at sfist.com