All photos by Susan Choquette
Tucked up in the rolling hills of
central Connecticut
is the Broad Brook Opera House, home since 2003 to The Opera House Players, a
group originally formed as the St. Martha Players in 1968. The group presents
four musicals a year in space that was built in 1892 by the Broad Brook Woolen
Company and over the years has housed an ice cream parlor and an insurance
company. Currently running in the wooden-beamed theater is “Monty Python’s
Spamalot,” based on the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” This
delightful, slightly irreverent musical, with book and lyrics by Eric Idle and
music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, is a witty send-up of the King Arthur
legend and, at the same time, many of the traditions of the Broadway musical.
Under the capable direction of
Sharon FitzHenry, the cast of 15 talented actors has one hell of a time camping
it up, much to the delight of the audience. The mood for the evening is set
when the Historian (Ryan Bird) provides a pretentious lecture on the history of
the period in England .
Confusion immediately reigns, for the opening number, “Fisch Schlapping Song,”
is set in Finland .
This is only the first of many misconstrued remarks that fuels much of the
comedy.
Arthur (Gene Choquette) and Patsy (Luis J. Manzi) cavort
With a limited set – several rather
stunted “trees,” two castle towers, some sliding curtains and several painted
scrims – the cast is able to vividly create multiple, believable scenes in
Arthur’s bumbling quest for the Holy Grail. “Spamalot” is basically farce, and
for farce to work the cast can’t play it farcically – sounds like a
contradiction, but for everything to work the characters must give the
impression that what is going on up on the stage is the stuff of high drama,
and this they do admirably.
Gene Choquette as King Arthur is
capable of being commanding and befuddled at the same time, because it ain’t
easy being king, especially when your subjects didn’t vote for you and don’t
even realize they live in a kingdom. He takes comfort in his faithful servant
Patsy (Luis J. Manzi), who carries their equipment and supplies the “clip-clop”
for their “horses,” said sound leading to a delightful argument early in the
first act between the king and several yeomen about the source of the coconut
shells Patsy uses.
Lancelot (Michael King) about to save a "maiden"
Scouring the countryside for able
men to become the knights that will sit “at a very large round table,” Arthur
recruits Dennis (Tim Reilly), a semi-cretin who, with the help of the Lady of
the Lake (Erica Romeo), morphs into Sir Galahad, with the cheering support of
the Laker Girls (Amy Rucci, Kaytlyn Vandeloecht, Liz Clayton, Mallory Wray and
Aileen Merino Terzi). Also called to the king’s banner are Sir Belvedere (Rick
Fountain), the overly-aggressive Sir Lancelot (Michael King) and the
slightly-less-than-aggressive Sir Robin (Randy Davidson). Beyond serving as
Arthur’s stalwart (?) knights, the four actors also ably play multiple roles.
The musical is basically a series
of set-pieces framed by the quest story, with each piece offering its own very
distinctive, and by now very well known, musical number. The problem with
taking on such a production (those involved had to believe that much of the
audience would be familiar with the original film and with the subsequent
Broadway production) is that expectations are high. By and large, the
expectations are met.
The Black Knight (Tim Reilly) and Arthur consider the loss of an arm
Those familiar with the musical
know full well that one of the central roles is that of the Lady of the Lake . She has several key numbers – among them a duet
with Arthur (“The Song That Goes Like This”), and the show-stopping “The Diva’s
Lament.” Happy to say that Romeo pulls both off with great aplomb. She’s a
perfect Lady – arch, sarcastic and robust, with a true diva’s voice.
In fact, all of the lead roles are
played with a great deal of sophistication and professionalism. They dance and
sing, often at the same time. The “Knights of the Round Table,” is rousing,
“Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” an eye- and ear-catching opening to
the second act, and “Brave Sir Robin” slyly humorous.
There are two numbers, however,
that stand out. The first is Sir Robin’s “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway.” Here
Davidson truly shines – he’s entertaining from beginning to end. The second is
the flamboyant “His Name is Lancelot,” when said knight slowly comes out of the
closet to a disco beat. King’s body language here is priceless as he allows his
character to slowly move to the beat. The final shining moment ostensibly
belongs to Arthur who, late in the second act, laments that “I’m All Alone,”
but the number wouldn’t work without Manzi’s subtle reactions to the fact that
his very existence is being disregarded. To Choquette’s credit, he creates an
obliviousness to the obvious that makes Manzi’s responses even funnier.
As good as these musical numbers
are, the show would not work if the cast wasn’t able to capture the unique
Pythonesque nature of the extended dialogue, which offers absurdity in the form
of rational conversation. Credit to director FitzHenry for imbuing the cast
with the sense that the silliness must be delivered in all seriousness. The
aforementioned argument about the coconuts is one example; others include
Arthur’s argument with Dennis and his mother about the proper type of
government for the realm, the confrontation with the Knights who say Ni and the
deliriously silly argument before the castle walls of a French nobleman. Add to
all of this the Trojan rabbit, an evil, bloodthirsty rabbit and the Holy Hand
Grenade of Antioch and you’ve got a send-up of multiple myths, religion and
more musicals than you can shake a lance at.
Yes, there are some minor problems,
among them lighting that often throws some of the actors into shadow (a problem
that could have been solved by several follow spots), a sound system that
sometimes suffers from feedback, and some (occasional) rather discordant notes
emanating from the quartet of accompanying musicians, but these minor glitches
do not take away from the overall enjoyment of the evening. It may take a bit
of travel time for many Connecticut
theatergoers to make it up to Broad Brook, but they will find the quest well
worth the effort.
By the way -- a nice touch -- the actors line up outside the theater to greet audience members as they depart.
By the way -- a nice touch -- the actors line up outside the theater to greet audience members as they depart.
“Spamalot” runs through May 17. For
tickets call 860-292-6068.
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