The musical comedy 'Spamalot' Returns to Boston
He is a King Arthur like no other. In search of the Holy Grail, he gets insulted by flatulent Frenchmen, fends off flying cows and a killer rabbit, and obsesses about putting on a Broadway musical.
This is the King Arthur of Monty Python's "Spamalot," the 2005 Tony Award winning musical which runs Jan. 15-27 at The Opera House in Boston.
"It's bizarre and ridiculous and pokes fun at all kinds of pretensions," said actor Michael Siberry, who has played the king since the show began its national tour in Boston two years ago. "It's a surreal take on just about everything."
Monty Python, for those who don't know, is a fictitious character invented in 1969 by the
British comedy team of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle and Terry Jones. The musical, as subtitled, is "lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
But you don't need to be a Python fan to enjoy its wacky humor, exuberance and pastiche of musical styles.
"We have people in the audience who are dogged fans and dress up and others who don't really know what it's about," Siberry said.
Siberry is the king whom nobody takes seriously, questing to find both the Holy Grail and put on a Broadway musical.
"I'm confused about why people aren't taking me seriously, but I'm cheerfully optimistic," he said. "It all ends happily ever after."
The musical won Tony Awards in 2005 for Best Musical and Best Director, and the original cast recording won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. The show also won the 2005 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical.
With their irreverent lyrics and memorable melodies, the songs evoke and spoof Broadway classics. Wearing a crown, chain mail and tunic, Siberry sings the ballad "All Alone," where he laments that he has lost all the knights he has gathered. He also sings the torch song "Find Your Grail," the popular "Live on the Bright Side" and the tap-dance accompanied "Knights of the Round Table."
Famous for its intelligent parody and play on words, Python humor has shaped comedy over the decades.
"When it first came out, it was unusual, but now it's pretty mainstream," Siberry said.
The show is directed by Tony Award-winner Mike Nichols, who recently received the Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Directors' Guild of America and who began his career performing improvisational and stand-up comedy. The music and lyrics by the Grammy Award-winning team of Eric Idle and John Du Prez.
Siberry, who performed for many years with the Royal Shakespeare Company in England and starred as Baron Von Trapp in the Broadway revival of Sound of Music, enjoys the opportunity to be purely comic.
"It's wonderful to be on stage just having a laugh," he said. "It's pure entertainment."
Jody Feinberg can be reached at jfeinberg@ledger.com.
The Patriot Ledger
SPAMALOT
The Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston. Jan. 15-27. Tickets, $30-$90, 617-931-2787 or broadwayacrossamerica.com.