State College Community Theatre’s production of MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT drew a crowd of Monty Python fans to the Mt. Nittany Middle School for their opening night. Recognizable props and routines from the original movie or The Flying Circus were met with laughter and applause, sometimes before the skit even got started. That is not to say that non-devotees were not laughing at the pure silliness of it all; SCCT captured the spirit of the show perfectly.
This is a show that is aided immensely by the tech crew. Jon Vickers-Jones can be depended upon for creative sets. The “simple” sets were well planned and were on and off stage with a minimum of fuss. I loved the “Very Expensive Forest”.
In contrast to the minimalistic sets the costumes were elegant, thanks to costume designer Julie Snyder. My first impression was that a national costume supply house had been used, but was told that, in true community theatre tradition, costumes had been found, sewn or borrowed locally.
Kat Shondeck’s choreography was an important part of the evening. The dance numbers were a delight and showed some surprising skill on the part of the actors.
Two technical jobs that frequently get overlooked in a production are the those done by the lighting and properties crews. David Gritzner, lights, and Melissa Foster, props, handled both complicated jobs without a noticeable hitch.
Director Bruce Fleischer and Producer David Gritzner were responsible for the most vital part of any good production...the casting. It would be impossible to mention the complete cast in this space; each person on stage was having as much fun as the audience. The ensemble was spirited and stars in their own right.
Matt Greer’s King Arthur is on stage almost all evening. Luckily Matt has the voice and presence to carry a show. (plus, he sits a horse remarkably well).
Each of the Knights of the Round Table had a chance to shine and shine they did. There were times that I felt that Michael Waldheir, as Sir Galahad, channelled the great Eric Idle. His business with his long hair got its own laughter. Sir Lancelot, who liked to dance a lot, gave Steve Travis a chance to recapture our disco days. Eric Ziegler played the “strangely flatulent” Sir Bedevere. Fortunately, the audience had to take the other actors’ word for how well he stayed in character.
Two of my personal favorites had show stopping moments. Rob Arnold was the quiet Patsy, the one who gets to wield the coconut sound effects. To Monty Python fans that is funny in itself, but Rob also got to do the best known song in the show, “Always Look On The Bright Side of Life”. I managed to NOT sing along, but I noticed that many in the audience could not help themselves. Rob hit it just right.
Eric Brinser was well cast as Sir Robin, the Brave. He also had a chance to steal the show with “You Won’t Succeed On Broadway”. Eric got to sing, dance, and play the piano, although I am sure the Python fans were disappointed that he kept his clothing on while at the piano and did not follow the wonderful inspiration of Terry Jones. I guess I should be happy that the rest of the number was so great.
The talent that almost blew me out of my seat was Christina Kidd as the Lady of The Lake. Christina’s vocal range is impressive and her comedic timing is perfect. She was able to cover practically all of the styles of music known to man and look good doing it.
Before this review becomes like the song “The Song That Goes Like This” and becomes too long and goes on and on and on, I have to mention how happy I am when Lyn Freymiller and Rachel Moon are in shows. Rachel has such a beautiful voice that it adds depth to any group and Lyn is just so danged versatile. The "Bring Out The Dead" scene was another show stopper.
Tonight is the final performance. Ticket information can be found on State College Community Theatre's website at: http://www.scctonline.org/. If you have to miss MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT, watch for any of this talented crew in future shows. Community Theatre is worthy of our support.
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