Spamalot, British Humor at its Best

Upstart Production's "Spamalot" makes a mockery of life in one single blow. I was a happy camper the whole time as I witnessed a delightful roast and toast of practically every human being and issue out there. In all fairness chances of being stoned for producing discriminatory stuff would be unlikely as they threw shade on both camps almost all the time. I truthfully did not expect that something called "SPAMalot" would be anything close to what felt like a re-education of history, present day current events, gender sensitivities, love and even self affirmation. I doubt any writer can adequately describe  the storyline as it was constantly leaping from one time warp to another. Despite this, the material is very easy on the eyes, necessary for the mind and exhilarating for the heart. The absurdity of the storyline was translated flawlessly by Joel Trinidad and Nicky Triviño. As if the material wasn't funny enough they took it a step further by adding a generous amount of Filipino adlibs. After all relatability is almost always a good thing.

Spamalot's Excaliber (known to have extraordinary mythical powers) was the stellar cast who had their fair share of magic. With a small cast, each talent's stage exposure was maxed out. Barely any time to breath they were in and out of the stage consistently performing tirelessly with perfect comedic timing. Lorenz Martinez who played King Arthur was on stage 95% of the time. Indefatigable, he nailed every joke (and there were many). He went big bold and better each scene until he became a friend to the audience. The Knights of the round table all appeared to be comfortable with their respective caricatures. In fact, I believe they were hamming up on stage with so much joy it's hard to tell if they actually consider this a day's work. (Noel Rayos, Bibo Reyes, Dean Rosen, George Schulze, Edrei Tan, and Chino Veguillas.) Domi Espejo as Patsy was the perfect side kick. As Alfred was to Batman, as Smithers was to Riverdale's Veronica Lodge, he served the production as the perfect slave. His silent but hilarious  silences was a good contrast to King Arthur's non stop chatter. Not to be upstaged by the gallant knights he blew me away with the song "You are not Alone" a duet with Martinez. His sarcasm was crisp and on point making this scene one of my absolute favorites. Reb Atadero as Herbert (Just watch the show to know who Herbert is) made my ribs hurt from laughing. Partnered with Noel Rayos as Lancalot, I saw no reason not to hoot uncontrollably with the audience. Rachel Alejandro as the the Lady of Lake was ravishing dressed in Francis Libiran's glorious gowns. Truthfully, it added a whole lot of theatrical glamour to the show. But Alejandro was not just beautiful in this show. She showed up ready to show off her divalicious musical chops. What I liked about her performance is that she literally shed her showbiz skin and was not afraid to look foolish on stage. She obviously took the opportunity to showcase another side of her. I'm excited to see her continue her journey in theatre. The cast obviously were smart enough to catch on the principles of British Humor. They were creative in finding humor in everything. They understood the importance of laughing at oneself. They believed that sarcasm is one of the foundations of comedy. This restaging of Spamalot was indeed British humor at its best.

Courtesy of Upstart Productions

Courtesy of Upstart Productions 

The ensemble as a whole worked hard on making people see the bright side of life. Healing laughter filled the theater and briefly, all was good in the world. Not enough is bright out there, so it  would be best to take a bite of spam, I am certain you'll enjoy it a lot.

Run ends August 12, 2017. Tickets available for purchase at Ticketworld.

MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT 
Book & Lyrics by ERIC IDLE
, Music by JOHN DU PREZ & ERIC IDLE
. A new musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture "Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” from the original screenplay by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
. Original Broadway Production produced by Boyett Ostar Productions, The Shubert Organization, Arielle Tepper Madover, Stephanie McClelland/Lawrence Horowitz, Elan V McAllister/Allan S. Gordon, Independent Producers Network, Roy Furman, GRS Associates, Jam Theatricals, TGA Entertainment, Live Nation
. Starring (in alphabetical order): Roxy Aldiosa, Rachel Alejandro, Reb Atadero, Rachel Coates, Domi Espejo, Carla Guevara-Laforteza, Lorenz Martinez, Noel Rayos, Bibo Reyes, Dean Rosen, George Schulze, Edrei Tan, and Chino Veguillas. Directed by Joel Trinidad and Nicky Triviño. Musical Direction by Onyl Torres. Choreography by the Martinez Sisters.