so...

I took my wife to see Spamalot.

It's hard to believe that they made a play out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, even more unbelieveable that it's a musical. And most amazingly, it's very, very good.

Both Allyson and I were laughing and smiling through the whole production. And we also noticed that there seemed to be two distinct types of people at the show: the fans of the movie and fans of plays. One of them seemed to know what was going to happen next, while the other was just rolling with the blows. And both groups seemed to be enjoying the play equally.

I guess if you have good material, it doesn't matter whether you are watching something because it's an old favorite or if it's something new. In fact, the reason that it is probably one of your favorites is because it's something that does have quality material behind it. And real quality is fairly timeless.

The play isn't just a scene for scene version of the movie, though, in case you didn't already know that, but that doesn't hurt a thing. The story has a different ending, and many new and different parts in the middle, but the humor remains very high. It's updated a little, adds a romance or two--both comedic, still--and a happy ending all for the Broadway crowd, which gives old fans a sense of something new. But keeping things like The Knights Who Say Ni, The Black Knight, The Killer Rabbit, and, probably the most popular, The Taunting French Knights.

In fact, it was amazing the cheers that some characters got when they appeared on stage. That was the easiest way to tell who knew the movie and who didn't: the ones who looked around confused at the cheers were obviously new to the story.

Before I get carried away and wander too much with this post, I'm going to come to a close. As a final statement, I give the play my recommendation. Not just to Python fans, but to anyone who enjoys a good musical comedy.