Any production of “Spamalot” is only as good as Lady of the Lake.
Fortunately, Bay Area theatergoers currently have a chance to see the Lady of the Lake show in Amanda Robles.
Robles steals the show time and time again – as does the excellent Lady of the Lakes – with precise comedic timing and delivery, impressive and deliberate vocal work (that would even give Mariah Carey’s “Songbird Supreme” a run for her money) and the ability to screw up and embrace full-on separation.
Robles, however, is one of the many reasons to catch the current Broadway touring production of the always entertaining “Spamalot,” which runs through March 22 at the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco. (For tickets, visit
Major Attaway, the Broadway vet best known for his role as The Genie in “Aladdin,” is another standout in the role of King Arthur in this Camelot-inspired tale centered on finding the Holy Grail. Attaway managed to make the part his own, mixing the king and comedy in ways that make each scene enjoyable. He’s a master at turning small moments into big laughs, using small jokes — and big facial expressions — to engage the crowd.
All in all, the cast is excellent – there isn’t a weak link in the ensemble – with each actor succeeding in the trademark chaos, witty wordplay and many missteps the show has been using since it hit Broadway back in 2005.
However, it is doing it in new and clever ways these days.
What we saw on opening night in San Francisco was not the first, which was nominated for 14 Tony Awards and ended up winning three – including Best Musical.
Instead, this is a 2023 revival tour, – under the direction of acclaimed director and choreographer Josh Rhodes – modernizing the musical by developing pop-culture references and stage designs while keeping the story firmly grounded in ancient times.
Of course, this is not a game that needs a lot of scrutiny. It was good from the start, especially in the way that – as the game’s tagline proudly boasts – “(love) brought out” the 1975 British comedy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”
However, unlike many of the bad movie adaptations that have followed in the past two decades, “Spamalot” has never been seen as a stage adaptation. Instead, it was like “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” was an introduction to something that felt completely — okay, OK, partially — real.
Almost all of the best gags you’ll find in the movie are still in the game, with Monty Python genius Eric Idle writing the book and lyrics and co-writing the music with veteran film scorer John Du Prez (otherwise known from the 1990 sub-film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”).
Yes, that includes Not Dead Fred (“I’m not dead. I’m better!”); those who angered the French soldiers; the Knights Say “You!”; “the meanest, meanest and fiercest” rabbit ever, etc.
And all of these pieces work, especially when they’re often set to (or lead to) songs that are strangely funny and wonderfully erudite as the plot turns on itself, as we follow King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table on their quest.
The music runs about 2 1/2 hours (with an intermission), but it doesn’t sound nearly that long. Show that in a storyline that keeps things zippy and songs that work on multiple levels. In many ways, it’s more an ode to Broadway itself than a direct take on the classic Monty Python film.
And maybe that’s why the character of Lady of the Lake is so important to the success of the musical. He’s the lead in many of Broadway’s best comedies, whether it’s joining forces with Sir Galahad (played by Leo Roberts) to sing the hit song “The Song That Goes Like This” or bemoaning the lack of stage time in “Diva’s Lament.”
And Amanda Robles paid for it all, which is quite a feat for someone making her first national tour. Judging by what we saw on opening night at the Golden Gate, however, it’s easy to envision Robles scoring many major Broadway roles in the years to come.
