When I was invited to watch the media preview for Spamalot, I almost declined because I didn’t think it was something I was interested in. My sister is the one who has CDs of Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, and who watched The Greatest Showman. She told me that she had heard of Spamalot, so I decided to see what it was all about. And I am so glad I did.
We saw the media preview tonight at the Maybank Performing Arts Center in BGC. It is located across from The Forum and Mercato Centrale, and just diagonally across the street from The Fort Strip.
MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT
If you are familiar with the Monty Python comedy group, you’ll know the kind of humor to expect 🙂 I’m not going to give away the whole story, but basically, the story revolves around King Arthur and his quest for the Holy Grail. They take creative license with everything – it’s not the story you expect – so just go in not expecting any historical accuracy. Expect comedy. Lots of comedy.
The Philippine production of Spamalot was given a lot of leeway, and the cast was given a lot of creative freedom to adapt their lines and ad lib. It shows – the cast’s energy was infectious and you just can’t help but laugh along!
They made so many cultural references – if you’re up to date on your pop culture, you’re going to get so many! They make fun of things people do – the over-acting, the over-singing, the diva-ness, and so many more. They even break the 4th wall from time to time. You have to have a quick mind to catch the zingers because they just come out without warning, sometimes one after the next. 
Carla Guevara-Laforteza, who played the Lady of the Lake tonight, was so much fun to watch. She nailed all the diva moves, and it was so, so hilarious to see her highlight all the “diva” things that I thought I was the only one to notice. Her singing is amazing.
Since we were not allowed to take any photos or videos of the actual performance, they performed one number for us that we could film (for not longer than 30 seconds). This video is 29:53 seconds 
This is from the song “Find Your Grail”.
The rest of the cast were also very talented. All the singing was on key, the diction and accents were near perfect, the comedic timing was spot on.
The costumes and the dance numbers seemed amateurish, but I think that’s on purpose. Monty Python is, after all, a sketch comedy group.
We were fortunate to be seated on the second row, but since no one else was seated on the first row, we basically had front row seats! The only problem was that we were seated on the right side, very near the speakers, and the music from the speakers sometimes overwhelmed the actors’ voices. So, tip: try to get seats as close to the center as you can.
SUMMARY
It was such a fun musical! It’s just silly and lighthearted. It looked like the cast was just having a great time and not really working (but of course, they were). The performance was a little over 2 hours long.
Don’t judge it by the photos – because of the costumes, the show looks amateurish on photo. You need to hear from people who have actually seen it. I did not laugh uproariously for the entire performance – but the whole time, I was at least smiling, and there were many instances where I had to wipe away tears of laughter, especially during the second act.
The songs are oh, so catchy! Almost all of them stuck with me even after watching the show.
If it seems like Spamalot is something that interests you, please go and see it! Spamalot is on a limited run, and will only have 10 performances. It is only available from April 13 to 22, 2018, Fridays to Sundays. Ticket prices start at P700, up to P2,000 for the best seats. You can see the schedule here and buy tickets from https://www.ticketworld.com.ph.
THE CAST & DIRECTORS
Here’s the cast while we were doing a Q&A after the show:
Upstart and BGC present MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT. Starring (in alphabetical order): Roxy Aldiosa, Rachel Alejandro, Reb Atadero, Rachel Coates, Domi Espejo, Rhenwyn Gabalonzo, Carla Guevara-Laforteza, Lorenz Martinez, Noel Rayos, Bibo Reyes, Dean Rosen, George Schulze, and Chino Veguillas. Directed by Joel Trinidad and Nicky Triviño. Musical Direction by Onyl Torres. Choreography by the Martinez Sisters.
Tickets available from TicktetWorld at 8919999 or Upstart at 09178116156.
