Has this show really been running for almost three years? Admittedly not a Python fan, I kept putting off seeing it until a cheap TDF ticket prompted a visit last night. I’m happy to report that the material still stands up after several rounds of replacements and one very weak performance from the Lady of the Lake understudy (I was pissed when I read the lobby board announcing Marin Mazzie out). So did I “get” all the jokes? No. But I guess the energy and commitment on stage (and in the audience from some obvious Python freaks) certainly made up for any confusion.

Trish and I were both worried for the first 15 minutes or so. We really weren’t “getting it” and I was preparing to dig in for a very long evening of inside jokes and mediocre songs - the “I’m Not Dead Yet” song is interminable and pointless. But when they started taking jabs at Phantom, they won me over - “The Song That Goes Like This” worked well despite Emily Hsu’s pitch problems. Now I don’t want to be cruel, but Hsu just doesn’t have the presence nor the requisite power belt to carry off the role. She is gorgeous and likable, but more ingénue than diva. Perhaps a sound man is to blame, but her voice didn’t cut through the orchestrations or the ensemble. She all but disappeared at the end of “Find Your Grail” and although it seemed like she was riffing to the Gods, the audience didn’t hear a single note above the chorus.

Although I too am growing a tad weary of the self-referential trend in musicals (it seems as though no show post-Producers has been able to shake the audience wink), Spamalot is definitely one of the more successful and fully developed examples of the genre. I guess it proves that anything that is well written, well directed and consistent in tone can rise above being just an extended comic skit (exception being the "Knights That Say 'Ni'" section - that went "whoosh" right over my head).

Props to the cast for consistently high energy and commitment, particularly Tom Deckman as Prince Herbert and Rich Holmes as the French Taunter. Holmes outrageous and nasty physical comedy, the castle humping and cunnilingual tongue action in particular, was worth the price of my discount ticket. But I’m pretty nasty myself and maybe this type of humor isn’t exactly to everyone’s taste. Personally, I love me a good flatulence joke.

My only regret is not having seen the original cast inhabit these characters. I am seriously now considering seeing the show again if only to check out a first rate Lady of the Lake and to see what type of stage chops "Gaiken" possesses (starting as Sir Robin on January 18). But I think the Claymates may keep tickets scarce for the next couple of months. Is he worth TKTS prices? Decisions, decisions.