Spamalot

The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, March 4-6, 2011

It is gratifying that a classic that almost did not get out of the starting gate has found ongoing life in various permutations.  When Monty Python’s Flying Circus immigrated to the USA in the 1970s, it was initially seen as it was in its home: a silly, transient British folly.  The show gathered steam through several seasons, spawned a clutch of movies and then the Pythons went asunder.  But demand only seemed to grow, and each Python leveraged in various fashion the platform built earlier.

Spamalot draws mostly on the Holy Grail film, but weaves in other Python themes. After a glorious run on Broadway (which warranted not only my repeat visits but a Tony award for Best Musical), it began its tour.  With no signs of slowing, the production lands at the lovely Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts in early March.  Although the theatre warns that strong language and mature themes may not be suitable for young ears, I am looking forward to expanding my daughters’ exposure of the Python oeuvre from TV sequences of the Lumberjack Song and Yangtse (river full of fish) to a full blown stage production.

Spamalot plays on Fri., March 4, 8:00 p.m.; Sat., March 5, 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.; and Sun., March 6, 2:00 p.m.