Last night Susan and I went to the Civic Center to catch the final Oklahoma City performance of Spamalot, a musical version the classic 1975 film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Spamalot was written by Eric Idle, on of the original members of Monty Python, and debuted on Broadway in 2005.

I’m a pretty big Holy Grail fan and I wasn’t sure how much I would like a musical based on the film. Turns out, it was pretty good. Spamalot is a pretty even mix of old comedy bits from the film mixed with funny songs and a new plot. The first half of the play is a relatively condensed version of the film, with multiple character concessions made for time, I assume. Dennis the peasant is actually Dennis Galahad (Sir Galahad), the guy shouting “Bring out your dead!” is actually Sir Robin, and the fellow who brings the old man to the dead cart turns out to be Lancelot. The saves a lot of time and makes room for multiple songs which are all pretty funny.

Many of the film’s classics skits appear in the play, from the opening discussion of migratory coconuts to the defeat of the Black Knight, Herbert and his two guards, being taunted by the French (“Run away!”) and the destruction of the Rabbit of Caerbannog (a “creature most foul”) by the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. That being said, there are many scenes that did not make the cut (Castle Anthrax, The Bridge of Dead) and there are many new additions as well. The Lady of the Lake, only mentioned by name in the film, serves a major role in the musical, as does Patsy, Arthur’s “steed” (the guy banging the cocnuts together”). Throughout the show’s 2+ hour running time there were plenty of reenactments of old jokes and plenty of new ones tossed in as well.

If you like Monty Python and particularly the Holy Grail, you should definitely check out Spamalot if you get the chance. Susan and I had a great time at the show.