Seriously Funny

Somewhere, one assumes, is someone who hasn't seen "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," a film released in 1975.

It is also possible that that same someone -- or someone like him -- hasn't seen the musical born of that movie. Eric Idle named the comedy "Spamalot," lifted from a line in the movie which goes: "We eat ham, and jam, and Spam a lot."

Central to "Spamalot" is the Arthurian legend -- a king, a sword in a stone -- but that's pretty much where the train leaves the tracks. The musical opens in a Scandinavian village -- where the villagers sing the "Fisch Schlapping Song" -- then, having corrected its location from Finland to England, introduces Arthur, whose servant Patsy follows him around banging together coconut shells to approximate the sound of horses' hooves.

Bewildered yet?

Meet "Not Dead Fred" -- presenter of the oft-quoted line "I'm not dead yet"; the Lady of the Lake; Dennis Galahad and his mother, political radicals who refuse to accept Arthur as king until Dennis is knighted; Sir Lancelot; Sir Robin; and Sir Bedevere; and watch as they embark on the quest to find the Holy Grail. And that's just Act I.

Act II includes the songs "You Won't Succeed on Broadway," "The Diva's Lament," "The Song That Goes Like This (Reprise)" and "Find Your Grail." Plus dancing. There's lots of dancing.

Director Ed McClure says although he remembers nightly how much he enjoys the play, putting "Spamalot" on the Arkansas Public Theatre stage hasn't been all cakes and ale. Every male actor except Wendell Jones, who plays Arthur, is doubling roles -- or more -- meaning each portrays from one to four characters, sings, dances and changes costumes like a teenager shopping with after-Christmas gift cards. Add to that the fact that the actor cast as Lancelot became ill about two weeks into a five-week rehearsal period and had to be replaced.

"John Bass has done a remarkable job picking up the role and still playing three others," says McClure. "And everybody else shifted to make it possible."

McClure says making that decision wasn't easy.

"You want to make sure he's OK, but you have 20 other people and an organization relying on you to put this show on the stage," he says. "I remember when we did 'Hello Dolly' in 1988, and no one missed a single rehearsal. But everyone is so busy now. I always have understudies in my mind."

It turned out to be the correct choice. The previous Lancelot, Levi Powell, had to have surgery on Monday.

McClure says even though he's told them many times, "This ain't Chekhov," the actors must take the characters seriously to make them funny. And Anna Knight -- the Lady of the Lake -- says it's important to "honor and stay true to" the characters from the film. Too many movie fans to ignore, she adds.

"And Monty Python fans," says Jones, referring to the comedy troupe.

Still, "you have to try not to mimic," he adds.

"But certain scenes are so iconic we tried to stress even the cadence of the original," McClure says.

"The biggest challenge has been all the dialogue and how fast it goes," Jones puts in.

That's different for the Lady of the Lake, says Knight. She has no lines until the end of Act II -- but she has songs in every musical style from pop to gospel to jazz scatting.

Beyond that, everyone has given whatever additional talents they have, McClure says.

"We've had people coming early to have dance intensive [rehearsals]. Wendell knew the music and was able to help with the dance intensives and how the dance and music went together. Anna has helped with dance when she's not on stage.

"The challenge of losing Lancelot made everybody pull together."

"The most rewarding thing is being here with this cast," Knight agrees. "There's definitely a family feel."

NAN What's Up on 02/05/2016