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City Springs Theatre has grasped the Holy Grail with its lavish, crowd-pleasing and hilarious production of Monty Python’s Spamalot, onstage at the Byers Theatre in Sandy Springs through March 26.
The show is sparkly, silly, well-acted, well-sung, well-danced and, well, delightful. The opening night crowd cheered extensively at the jokes and bits they saw recreated from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, ranging from the flesh wounds to some particularly threatening bunnies.
It’s all good fun, whether you’re familiar with the material or it’s new to you.
For people who’ve only seen the movie, Spamalot, which opened on Broadway in 2005, expands upon the story of King Arthur and his knights’ quest from the barefooted God in the sky. The musical includes surprising twists in the tales of Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot and Sir Robin, and it also features the fantastic addition of the Lady in the Lake, here to provide Arthur with Excalibur — and to perform the best songs in the show.
The production value of this show is incredibly high, using sets and costumes designed by Tim Hatley from the Broadway production. The choreography from Liz LeGrande features a wild mix of tap, Jewish folk dance, disco and cheerleading. The direction by Shane DeLancey is tight, well-paced and keeps the jokes coming fast.
And there are a lot of laughs here, not just from flying cows or rude Frenchmen. The music of Spamalot intentionally spoofs all sorts of Broadway styles, from Mamma Mia! to The Phantom of the Opera. And the City Springs show even tosses in local references, including ads for its upcoming production of Cats.
Performer Googie Uterhardt anchors the show as Arthur, a solid, stoic, bold and pompous sort who plays the straight man to a lot of silliness. Uterhardt is a terrific actor with a great voice, and he has appeared in three City Springs musicals before. His Arthur remains steady and unflappable, even occasionally oblivious.
During his best song, he bemoans his loneliness, barely acknowledging Patsy (Roberto Mendez), his aide who has stayed by his side the entire show.
Kristine Reese’s Lady in the Lake is a powerhouse. The role, which won Sara Ramirez a Tony Award, is the most vocally challenging in the piece. It requires tremendous range and an ability to switch vocal styles on a dime during songs like “Find Your Grail.” Reese ably takes on this challenge, channeling Celine Dion one minute and Patti LaBelle the next. The best song in the show has the diva breaking the fourth wall to lament her lack of stage time, and Reese earns all the flowers she receives during her performance.
David Rossetti does terrific work as Sir Robin, the silliest and most scared of the knights. Nick Walker Jones and Billy Harrigan Tighe make Lancelot and Galahad swoonworthy. Mendez is also very funny.
It’s a high quality, high energy, fun production that no one should object to, not even Knights Who Say Ni. Anyone not dead yet should go see it.
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Benjamin Carr, a member of the American Theatre Critics Association, is an arts journalist and critic who has contributed to ArtsATL since 2019. His plays have been produced at The Vineyard Theatre in Manhattan, as part of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival, and the Center for Puppetry Arts. His novel Impacted was published by The Story Plant in 2021.
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