Spamalot

[Lurker]

Honestly, I haven't seen a Monty Phyton film ever so I don't know what to expect when we watch this at the Canon Theatre here in Toronto (before we leave for Calgary, Alberta ). I heard it's a movie but I don't have time to rent it, if they actually have it on DVD. Would I be able to understand the plot, dialogues, jokes whatever eventhough I haven't see a single Monty Phyton movie. Is it so funny that I have to wear diapers?

Anybody seen this play on Broadway yet?
Damn, this is what I'm going to miss about Toronto, the freakin' theatre and hockey! Now, I have to subject myself to Chuck Wagon Races and Rodeos. Argh!

[Lidless]

I have never, ever, seen a Monty Phyton film, even though it gets almost 90,000 hits on Google.

[Whistler]

After you've seen it, you'll know what I mean.

[vison]

I used to really like Monty Python.

Is this other group sorta like them?


And now for something completely different . . . . .

The movie "The Full Monty".

Ok. This is how it was explained to me: a chap, or rather, all chaps have a . . . uh . . . . part of themself that is called a "trouser snake". Okeydokey? Still with me?

Now, is a Python a snake or not?

It is, right?

Okeydokey.

And in the tradition of Cockney rhyming slang (although this doesn't rhyme), we move on from calling it a Snake to a Python to a Monty, and thus, The Full Monty, as in The Entire Monty or The Complete Monty On View.

Arencha glad you read this post?

I was so pleased to have that explained to me that I simply had to pass it along.

No doubt some erudite Brit will soon straighten me out and tell me I'm just blowing smoke, but for the time being I am feeling quite chuffed, actually.

And one does hope, one does, that the above mentioned gentlemanly bit is not offensive to anyone.

[MaidenOfTheShieldarm]

I've seen it. (Three times -- twice on Broadway, once on tour.)

It's a good show, really funny. A lot of people who aren't Python fans prefer it to the movie, and it is funnier in some ways. One of the times I went, it was with my mother who had only ever seen a few episodes of Flying Circus and she absolutely loved it -- listens to the soundtrack all the time now. I've heard the same from a lot of people. It spoofs Broadway just as much as it does King Arthur. Really, it's just a funny show, no matter what.

You should get Holy Grail at some point though (not because of the show, just for giggles). It is on DVD. There's a shiny Collector's Edition out, in fact, with fun features like the Coconut Educational video.

[Alatar]

I agree with Mossy, it's a fantastic show. There are jokes that Python fans can quote word for word in there, so there's certainly a payoff for the fans, but I think it stands alone.

My thought would be that if you haven't seen "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" yet, you should skip it till after the show. It's one thing to see a new version of a cherished movie, which is what a Python fan sees at Spamalot. Its an entirely different thing to see two different versions of the same story in quick succession.

On a "non-Python" side of things, the music is good, if not brilliant, but there are a couple of standaout numbers. "The Song that Goes Like This" and "Find Your Grail" are wonderful Broadway parodies. "Not Yet Dead" and "All Alone" are great also.

Watch out for the Tap Dance. Brilliant!!!

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Ni!

[Alatar]

Hey Tom, to follow on from our Opera/Bway discussion you should check out Sarah Ramirez on the Spamalot soundtrack. That woman does stuff with her voice that would frighten you! Of course, she's doing it for comic effect but she really parodies the vocal gymnastics one sometimes hears to brilliant effect. I might MP3 a track for you, just for fun.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Amazon.com has the original cast recording of Spamalot. On which tracks did Ms. Ramirez sing? I can at least hear a sample.

Of course you have to love the Brave Sir Robin song.

BTW, Sarah Ramirez won a Tony for best supporting actress in a musical last year, and was one of the presenters this year.

[MaidenOfTheShieldarm]

Sara's main songs are The Song That Goes Like This, Find Your Grail, and Diva's Lament.

She's rather brilliant, IMO. (And her presentation this year was great. Second best after Christine Ebersole's with John Tartaglia.)

Edit: Tom, here's a clip of The Song That Goes Like This with Sara Ramirez and Christopher Seiber.

Edit 2: AND a video of Sara Ramirez singing Diva's Lament. I want her voice.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Thanks for that info, Mossy. I had a guess that "Diva's Lament" was hers.

Several years ago, this is before Spamalot came out, one of my brothers and I saw Eric Idle in what was probably a predecessor to Spamalot. He did some of the familiar bits from the Monty Python TV material and other assorted silly bits.

Afterwards he sat at a table in the lobby casually talking with people and signing autographs. I was very impressed at how relaxed and down to earth he was. When Spamalot came out and was such a huge hit I thought back to that day with fondness.

As far as sopranos go, I think the most all-around beautiful voice I have ever heard belonged to Montserrat Caballe. If you want an example of the unbelievable beauty of her voice and the control she has, I can think of no better example than "Signore, Ascolta" from Puccini's Turandot. She hold the last note for what seems like forever. Instead of straining to hold it, it seems to only grow more beautiful. It's really stunning, and has to be heard to be fully appreciated. And here it is...

http://www.unbeldi.com/rec_im/signore2.wav

[Primula Baggins]

That's . . . awe-inspiring.

[Alatar]

Amazon.com has the original cast recording of Spamalot. On which tracks did Ms. Ramirez sing? I can at least hear a sample.

Of course you have to love the Brave Sir Robin song.

BTW, Sarah Ramirez won a Tony for best supporting actress in a musical last year, and was one of the presenters this year.

And fully deserved it was too. I'll see if I can get "Find Your Grail" for you. If not I'll MP3 it.

[Alatar]

Found it!

Find your Grail

The Monserrat Caballe clip was wonderful, thanks Tom.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Thanks for that clip, Alatar. That sounds very familiar now that I hear it. She must have performed it at the Tony's last year.

I think Ms. Ramirez would be a great gospel singer.