And so it goes...
Monty Python's Spamalot
Whereas the music is revoltingly begging to be adored, I have to say that I've grown fond of the brainless melodies and the captivating parody (Everyone says to look out for "The Song That Goes Like This" and "You Won't Succeed On Broadway," and they do so in the most rightful of manners.)
Sara Ramirez is vocally AND comically gorgeous (Both "Find Your Grail" and "Diva's Lament" showcase her powerhouse vocals and some of the nicer pieces of the score), as is (Who knew?!) David Hyde Pierce in his brief shining moments.
Hank Azaria: Are you even in this show? Despite his two-and-a-half minutes of appearance on the album, I'm sure that Azaria's Lancelot makes up in physicality whatever it lacks vocally (At least, I certainly hope it does. I shudder to think...).
Tim Curry is met with a score far below his range, which is sad for someone with so much talent and legend behind him. The loveably-quirky Christian Borle makes some very nice turns in his multiple onstage duties, despite the overly-campy "His Name Is Lancelot," which Borle still handles with grace and energetic ferocity. And after hearing his falsetto in the show's finale, I finally understand why he's Sutton Foster's boy-toy.
The strongest features of the album include the integration and re-affirmation of decades of old Python musical material. Most of it is well executed and abundantly scored for the Broadway stage. The attempt to tie in Broadway's own over-indulgent nature is a fitting choice for the low-brow Python humor, and it comes across relatively nicely on the album itself.
I am almost positive that the show stands fully alone by itself in performance. It appears to be a production where the visual antics can be imagined by sound alone, but would prove to be nothing in comparison to what Mike Nichols and his creative team have staged. It simply has to be seen, especially when we miss out on witnessing The Black Knight and The Knights Who Say "Ni" on the cast recording.
(Oh, well. I just have to wait until November when Azaria returns to the show after his June 6th leave of absence. We wouldn't want to miss another Birdcage-worthy homosexual performance from Hank, now, would we?)
This is certainly a must-have album for the musical theatre geek, the secret, "Lumberjack"-adoring Python fan, or simply those who can genuinely appreciate the value and divine nature of a Forbidden Broadway-esque bashing.
I know I can.
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