Review submitted by Annabelle Derrick of Indian Creek High School.
Attention all townsfolk! Mayhap the most enthusiastic and phenomenal production of “Spamalot” this squire’s laid eye upon was performed just last eve at Annapolis High School!
“Spamalot” is a highly comical musical adaptation of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”, a famous movie by a British comedy troupe released in 1975. The show parodies the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the round table on their quest for the Holy Grail.
Michael Stafford perfectly characterized the bravado and confidence of King Arthur. His interactions with everyone from his Knights to the Lady of the Lake to the voice of God himself were absolutely spot on. Nina Encarnacion as Lady of the Lake enthralled the audience with her powerful and emotive voice. One listening to her could truly believe she herself must have been as enchanting and mystical as her character.
There was never a dull moment when the court of Camelot was onstage! Own McCandless as Sir Dennis Galahad acted as a perfect proxy for the audience. His questioning of the plausibility of the show compounded his already impressive comedic ability and brought the house down. As the first Knight to join up with King Arthur, his intellectual skepticism perfectly countered the nature of a fantasy story and engaged the audience from the very beginning. He shared the spotlight along with Noah McCullers as Sir Lancelot, who managed to portray both murderous anger and flamboyant style to their extremes, flipping with ease at a moment’s notice. Both of these actors had superb comedic timing landed their every line and kept the energy of the audience sky high.
For a show with such strong actors, it was unsurprising that those working behind the scenes also displayed incredible talent and drive. From their first note to their last, the orchestra was absolutely flawless. All the players of the Annapolis High School Pit Band managed to guide the actors when the actors would lose their beat in unison, which was impressive to say the least. Another fantastic technical aspect of “Spamalot” was their props, which were the products of Walker Dixon, Lucy O’Brien, Jenna Wooster, and their team’s evident hard work. Not only did each prop add comedic value to its scene, but the creativity that went into their design and construction was astronomical. For example, covering the Holy Grail in the same material as a disco ball was absolutely hilarious and played very well. Also highly commendable was the stage crew, led by Amelia Farrell and her team. They made each transition run quickly and every single one went off without a hitch, a rare feat
for the amount of changes required.
The sheer energy and humor the actors provided were coupled with seamless work behind the scenes to produce a fantastic and hilarious show. This production served as an important reminder to us all how even amid dark times or difficult circumstances, if you “always look on the bright side of life,” you’ll make it through with a smile.
The performance reviewed was from Saturday, 12/07/2019.
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