Last Thanksgiving, I had a very good time watching the National Touring Company of Spamalot at a theater in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, looking back at what I posted that evening, I don't think I was quite lavish enough with the praise, both for that troupe and for the show itself, cleverly (at times, brilliantly) adapted by Eric Idle and John DuPrez from You-Know-What. The show was funny from start to end and there was that wonderful energy you sometimes get in the theater when the whole audience is loving what's on the stage and laughing not only non-stop but in unison.
Last evening, I went to see the Las Vegas production of Spamalot, which is at the new Wynn hotel in its Grail Theater, built (well, extensively refurbished) especially for this show. If I'd seen this production and not the other, I'd be sitting here now writing a blog post about the colossal disappointment that is Spamalot; of how Idle and DuPrez only managed to turn one of the funniest movies ever done into a mildly, intermittently entertaining musical. Obviously, that's not the case. It was hilarious in Columbus, Ohio and I'll bet it's wonderful in New York. So why was it so diminished here?
It wasn't because the show's been trimmed a bit. One song — "All for One" — is out, as is most of "Run Away" and a few choruses of others. The whole back-and-forth with the guards guarding Herbert is cut and the Knights Who Say "Ni" had their part reduced, which must have pissed them off. A few scenes have been reordered, and some lines and lyrics have been changed, including all the references to Act One and Act Two, since they also removed the Intermission. But I didn't particularly mind any of the omissions and one — a big trim in "All Alone" — actually made the song funnier.
Some of what went wrong was that theater. It's cold and dank and those of us with mezzanine seats were viewing the action as if from one of those helicopter rides over the Strip. But a greater problem was the production, itself. I'd say about half the cast was fine…as good as the folks I saw in Ohio, one or two maybe even better. But the other half sure wasn't. The show is larger than life so the actors have to be, and some of them just lacked the personality and flair, which slowed the whole momentum and, I suspect, handicapped the strong performers. In one scene, I thought to myself, "This is what Spamalot will be like when they release the rights to perform it at the Community College level." (Seinfeld star John O'Hurley opened the production here and that's him in the photo above playing King Arthur. He's not in the show these days, though I heard a Wynn employee tell someone that they'd heard he's coming back.)
The other problem, I'm almost embarrassed to suggest, was the audience. They didn't seem very into it even though they seemed to be familiar with Python and the movie. In Columbus, there was a huge roar of recognition when The Knights Who Say "Ni" or the French Taunter or the Black Knight appeared. Here…nothing. Or at best, a slight giggle as if to say, "Oh, this part." There was applause and a bit of cheering at the end but nothing like I witnessed in Ohio.
I've written here in the past about attempts that have been made to mount full Broadway imports (or even original musicals) in Las Vegas. They haven't had too good a track record and I've suggested, first of all, that some of the wrong shows have been brought in — like Avenue Q, which flopped in (I think) the same showroom that Spamalot now occupies. I still think Avenue Q didn't belong in Vegas and certainly not in an auditorium that size. I've also suggested that the trimming which is usually done has hurt some of these shows.
Last time I discussed this, someone — I'm outta town and laptopping it so I don't have the message here — wrote to suggest that I was overlooking the biggest problem. Vegas, he said, is just not a theater town. There are too many other things to do, and good theatergoing requires the commitment of an evening in both time and attention. You can't just squeeze a play in among the eighteen other activities you want to accomplish before it's time to leave. I didn't think there was anything to that when I read his message…but now I'm not sure.
I still recommend you see Spamalot. Just don't see it in Vegas.
Still, the trip wasn't a total loss. I had ten minutes to kill before it was time to truck into the theater so I sat down at a Video Poker machine — first time I've played one for money in…must be fifteen, eighteen years. I resolved not to lose more than ten bucks and third hand in, I hit a straight flush…and went into Spamalot somewhat happier than I was on the way out.