What: Spamalot
Where: McPherson Playhouse, 3 Centennial Square
When: Opens Friday, continues May 7, 12, 13, 14 at 8 p.m. and May 8, 15 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: starting $21.75 at McPherson box office (250-386-6121) or rmts.bc.ca
Asked how he put his personal stamp on Spamalot, director Roger Carr provided the example of a fish prop.
In Spamalot, a musical adapted from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, there’s an important fish scene. It’s wrapped around the Fisch Schlapping Song in which men slap women with fish, then are fish-slapped in return by women with bigger fish and so on.
As a special touch, Carr ensures that one of his cast leaves a fake fish on stage. Then, when King Arthur enters with his “horse” (a servant named Patsy who slaps coconuts together to replicate horse hooves) the pair must overcome this minor obstacle.
“They go hop, jump over the fish,” Carr said. “There’s lots of things like that.”
It might sound a bit silly and nonsensical. But that’s Monty Python for you. The popular BBC comedy series ran from 1969 to 1974.
Inspired by the irreverence of The Goon Show, the Python gang picked up on Spike Milligan’s free-wheeling surrealism and absurdism, taking it much further.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail was a wacky send-up of King Arthur’s search for the Holy Grail. Based on the film, Spamalot also tosses in references to unrelated Python skits such as the Dead Parrot Sketch and The Lumberjack Song. The Tony Award-winning musical premièred on Broadway in 2005 and met with critical and commercial success.
As well as fish skirmishes, those attending the Victoria Operatic Society’s production can expect killer rabbits, flatulating Frenchmen, dancing girls and knights who say “ni” (pronounced “nee”). The 26-member cast includes Jeff Stephen, Tara Britt, Morgan McLeod and Robert Mitchell.
VOS musicals are typically large affairs. That said, Spamalot is a bona fide whopper, with 150 costumes, a castle set, a dozen backdrops and an orchestra.
“It’s a bigger show than I anticipated it would be. Bill Adams’ sets are bloody massive. We’re almost running out of space. Well, we have at the McPherson Playhouse. There’s so much stuff,” Carr said.
A key challenge is herding such a large cast around the stage.
“With 25 people on stage, it’s management,” the director said.
“It’s traffic direction,” added choreographer Jennifer Sanders.
When it comes to community musicals, Carr arrives with a strong track record. He has overseen productions of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Cabaret, The Drowsy Chaperone and Miss Saigon so accomplished, they rivalled professional productions.
Asked for the secret, Carr modestly credited the importance of a “brilliant production team.”
Spamalot’s includes seasoned conductor Hilary Coupland, admired set designer Bill Adams and Sanders.
The latter, a former ballerina with the Alberta Ballet, is a VOS veteran who staged shows at Butchart Gardens for years — and once served as a backup dancer for Weird Al Yankovic.
When Sanders was enlisted to oversee the dancing in Spamalot, she assumed it would be just “comedy choreography.” In fact, the musical demands a surprisingly diverse pastiche of styles, ranging from disco to the Charleston.
And there are more cast-of-thousands style production numbers than the typical musical, she said.
Another unexpected challenge for Sanders was teaching Patsy the servant/steed to clap coconuts while executing different horse movements.
“On the first night of choreography I said to him: ‘OK. This is going to be your canter, this is your trot and this’ll be your gallop.’ ”
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