Has this hot weather caused your funny bone to get out of joint? The cure is at the Broadway At The Marcus Center’s last traveling show of the season….Monty Python’s Spamalot. You will find that you will be able to get your silly on all the evening long!
If you are not familiar with Spamalot (shame on you), as the program indicates, it is ‘a musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture “Monty Python And The Holy Grail”. Yes it’s clearly ripped off! Many of your favorite bits are included like the knights that say ‘Ni’, the murderous rabbit, the taunting Frenchman, the ‘Trojan Rabbit’, it’s only a flesh wound, and the hand grenade of Antioch being a few examples. But not every event is here because there is a lot of singing and dancing to be completed. Which means there isn’t a moment of downtime for the audience…so don’t laugh too long or loud or you will miss another great bit. But yes, they do get thee a shrubbery too.
And sorta spoiler alert. The producers and directors have slipped in a number of references to Milwaukee. I don’t want to spoil the fun, but just be aware that you need to watch for them. You won’t be disappointed.
The main characters are: King Arthur, played by Major Attaway. Attaway is a major presence with a big booming voice who dominates every scene where he is present. But Attaway can also show Arthur as a bit distracted and naive…not something you would want in your king…but certainly an asset for a lead character in a Monty Python musical. And the Lady of the Lake drives the story AND backstory, although she complains a bit about being out of the limelight for a bit too long in Act Too. Amanda Robles IS the Lady of the Lake. long on style and elegance with just an incredible operatic voice that will enthrall you to pieces! Absolutely.
Spamalot has a very large cast…most of them playing multiple roles…and it is impossible to keep track of all of these changes or to identify all of the guilty (I meant guileful) parties.
But the real stars here is the ensemble…the many singers and dancers playing any number of roles depending on the scene…and as they appear out of seemingly nowhere and take over the stage in brilliant costumes and brilliant lighting…they certainly don’t have time to take a breath and I didn’t either as I tried to keep up with the splendor and majesty of each song/dance number…how can they keep this up? And the Laker Girls were a clearly vital force in most of these numbers…and I never expected to see a Vegas review pop up in Camelot. But they should have a bone to pick with the director..that old Arthur only has one costume change that I remember but the Laker Girls seem to have dozens.
And oh my goodness, the costumes and the set. The set is a major character as you watch it shift and shimmy and twist and rise as it describes the multiple scenes and environments required. Again, keep an eye on the set…parts of it are hard bits and parts of it are projections…not only are the changes simply amazing…they also tell some of their own stories. Thank you Paul Tate DePoo III (scenic and projection design), Cory Pattak (Lighting), and Kai Harada and Haley Parcher (sound design). And the costumes! Oh my goodness…there are hundreds of them and each seemingly more fabulous than the last. And not just for the principals but for each and every character and ensemble member. WHO knew there were so many sequins in Camelot?
Seriously, this is a show that you should see. It is spell binding. I was there opening night, just one of a nearly full house of people who just laughed and laughed and laughed. And it wasn’t the Boomer crowd one might expect. Every Milwaukee demographic was represented. So even if you don’t know Spamalot or the Holy Grail or Monty Python, go: you will have a great time finding your own sense of silly.
This isn’t in town long so don’t dawdle. It plays at the Marcus Performing Arts Center from now through July 19, 2026. More information and tickets here.
