Tag Archives: theater

Dream: Robert Brown and All Our Tragic

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14 July 2018

When I woke up, all I could think of was the name Robert Brown. It had been threaded throughout a long dream mostly unrelated to Robert Brown.1

I was at a performance of a long play.2 During a break I ate with two handsome men my age who looked and sounded interesting. Did they notice me?

I went to the cash register and found it in the dark underground. I overheard the cashier berating someone.

Somehow my aunt had a large student loan that she hadn’t needed, and I was to pay it on her behalf. Before I could tell the cashier my business, she started belittling my aunt and accusing her of fraud and theft (maybe I had already told her my business since she knew what it was?) When she took a break, I told her who I am. She didn’t react, but she stopped ranting.

I kept thinking I had left my dishes in boxes on the back steps, but I didn’t recommend this for others because of animals. Mine would be safe for unknown reasons. I went outside for dishes and saw that the steps led to the lake, which lapped at the bottom, and overlooked a great city on the other side. I marveled as I realized I lived in this place and could go down these steps any time, although now they were icy, wet, and treacherous. I went back up them carefully, afraid to step into the lake water and feeling like what I’d seen was an illusion, a mirage.

All the while “Robert Brown” kept running through my head.

1 Robert Brown, born under the far more interesting name Robin Adair MacKenzie Brown, played Lazarus (and his counterpart, Lazarus) on the Star Trek episode, “The Alternative Factor.” Famously, he was a last-minute choice after John Barrymore, Jr., failed to appear.

2 This may come from my attendance a few years ago at All Our Tragic, an adaptation of all the Greek tragedies into one 12-hour play. Hypocrites’ effort won six Jeff Awards.

Review: Monty Python’s Spamalot

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On Friday, January 21, I was fortunate enough to see Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Shubert Theatre in Chicago (soon to be named the LaSalle Bank Theatre).

Spamalot is the stage musical “lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Some, not all, elements of the movie are here, along with pieces from other Monty Python flicks and sketches; they even manage to work in a group variation of the fish-slapping dance. There’s very little dialogue, just enough to sew the various components and songs together into a semblance of a plot. But who needs plot with such comedy and such performances?

The distinguished-looking Tim Curry, complete with infectious, devilish, yet somehow vacuous grin, is wonderful and strangely sexy as Arthur, trying to convince peasant collectives and rude French retainers that he is King of the Britons. His knights of the Round Table, led by Hank Azaria as Sir Lancelot and David Hyde Pierce as the not-so-brave Sir Robin, as well as the supporting cast of singers and dancers, bring high energy to this silly tale of masochistic monks, killer rabbits, a testy God, and a “watery tart,” the Lady of the Lake who gives Arthur his authority (such as it is) through Excalibur.

Oddly for a show that was developed by and about an all-male troupe, it’s the luscious, voluptuous Sara Ramirez who’s in the limelight as the scantily clad Lady of the Lake and the peevish diva who, in a long and hilarious number during the second act, informs us that she’s been kept backstage too long. Most of us agreed. She has a beautiful voice, able to warble softly, to belt out, or to try out a number of styles, including scat.

Of course, the plot is ostensibly about the quest for the Holy Grail. Within this framework, there’s room for silly and ironic humour about everything from the flight speed of African swallows, George W. Bush, farting and expectorating, gays, Broadway in Chicago, and even the prominence of Jews on Broadway (even though it’s acknowledged that’s 1,000 years in the future in a country that hasn’t been discovered).

The sets and the staging are brilliant, and even the signature foot (along with a partner) makes an appearance. The most ingenious moment is the re-creation from the film of the duel with the knight who just doesn’t know when to admit defeat.

Monty Python’s Spamalot is filled with catchy tunes, solid dancing and singing, colourful costumes and sets, barely covered female flesh, and laughs. If you’re a Monty Python fan or if you need to laugh long and loud, this is the show to see.

Footnote: While I was waiting in line in the doorway of the women’s room during intermission, I heard a door open across the hallway from me and turned around to find myself face to face with Eric Idle. I didn’t say anything, but the poor man was soon surrounded by a crowd. He’s taller than I realised, and a bit stooped. Added a special moment to a great evening.