A Comedy Feast for a Summer Knight: Spamalot at Marcus Center

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Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

The Broadway cast of 'Spamalot'

The Broadway cast of 'Spamalot.'

The 2025-26 Broadway series continues at the Marcus Center with an uproarious production of Spamalot, now playing in Uihlein Hall through July 19.

The plot of this well-known musical is “ripped off” from a 1970’s film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The film’s success encouraged Monty Python writers Eric Idle (Book and Lyrics) and John Du Prez (Music, in a shared credit with Eric Idle) to create something very similar for the stage.

In 2004, Spamalot had its out-of-town tryout in Chicago. The estate that owns rights to the musical Camelot tried to prevent the show from using a similar title. However, a judge ruled for the defendant, stating that no one who bought tickets to Spamalot would think they are actually going to see Camelot.

So Spamalot opened on Broadway. The original cast featured Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) as King Arthur, who ruled the knights of the Round Table in medieval England. Spamalot was nominated for 14 Tony Awards in 2005 and won four, including Best Musical. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

The musical had a Broadway revival in 2023, this time starring James Monroe Igleheart (who played the Genie in Aladdin). This is pertinent to the current tour in Milwaukee, which stars Major Attaway in the same role (as King Arthur). Like Igleheart, Attaway also played the role of the Genie in Broadway’s Aladdin. Mattaway brings a larger-than- life presence to his role as the mighty king of the Britons.

Mattaway has a superb bass voice, which is heard often in songs such as “King Arthur’s Song,” “The Song That Goes Like this,” and “I’m All Alone.” In the singing department, he is matched by Amanda Robles as the Lady of the Lake. Her multi-octave voice is put to the test repeatedly, and she sometimes brings down the house (when she holds a strong high C note). Her second-act solo, “Diva’s Lament” is worth waiting for.

One Joke After Another

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Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Spamalot - Broadway

Left to right: Michael Fatica, Taran Killman, Drew Reddington, and Ethan Slater in the Broadway production of 'Spamalot.'

The jokes come fast and furious from the start of this medieval English romp. One of the most versatile actors is Blake Segal (as Patsy) He constantly trots behind King Arthur, clapping a pair of coconuts to mimic the sound of horse’s hooves. He’s a central part of all the production numbers and even slips into a couple of minor roles as well.

Also among the standouts is Leo Roberts as Sir Galahad (and others), Daniel Beeman as “The Brave Sir Robin” (who’s actually a scaredy cat), and Chris Collins-Pisano as Sir Galahad (and many other characters). The show’s narrator (Steven Telsey) returns in Act II as an effeminate young man.

As King Arthur and his knights’ journey to find the Grail, they encounter all sorts of obstacles, such as the Knights of Ni and a killer rabbit. (The rabbit, played by a hand puppet, is one of the funniest bits in the whole show.)

There are only 17 actors in the Spamalot cast, but you’d swear there were twice as many actors due to the seamless quick changes to bring on other characters. This is the hardest-working tour cast that this reviewer has seen in a while, and their stamina is enviable. The knights are required to tap dance on cue, sometimes accompanied by the Lady of the Lake’s assistants, called “Laker Girls.” These comely young dancer/singers shine throughout, but especially in a Las Vegas-style number that includes enormous bar dice and other props.

Other Long-Running Musicals Get Skewered

The show has always contained nods to well-known musicals (The Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, Company, Les Misérables, and Oklahoma!, to name a few), but it also has some updates (Wicked). There are even a few Milwaukee references (no spoilers here, aside from one: the Lady of the Lake becomes the Lady of Lake Michigan.)

This may sound like a fun show for kids, but the humor is strictly for adults only. (At one point, King Arthur boasts that the scenes “are too hot for cable TV.”) He’s right about that, despite the fact that there’s no nudity and only a few mild obscenities.

When Sir Galahad sets out to rescue a “damsel in distress,” he finds that the “damsel” is actually an effeminate Prince Herbert. Unsure of his feelings for this long-haired youth, Galahad eventually “reverts” to his authentic self (in short, he becomes gay). One senses that this scene would have been far more edgy in 2004, but it still has some legs even now, 20 years later.

The score has many highlights, although it should be pointed out that the best song, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” was “borrowed” from a different Monty Python film, “The Life of Brian.” The show’s projections are fantastic, showing that futuristic digital techniques can blend well with seemingly low-budget medieval sets (set and projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III). A multitude of costumes (by Jen Caprio) are right on the mark, lending just enough clues of the show’s period timeline. The sumptuous lighting design is by Cory Pattak, with sound by Kai Harada and Haley Parcher.

The show is glittering and goofy from beginning to end, and of course, there are weddings in the final scene. There’s no doubt that audiences will leave the theater “looking on the bright side of life.”

The national tour of “Spamalot” runs through July 19 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, visit marcuscenter.org, or call the box office at (414) 273-7206.