Musical Theatre West's Spamalot, With Davis Gaines, Larry Raben, Tami Tappan Damiano, Begins June 29

By Michael Gioia
29 Jun 2012

Davis Gaines
Davis Gaines

Musical Theatre West presents the Tony Award-winning musical Monty Python's Spamalot beginning June 29, prior to an official opening June 30, at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center.

Davis Gaines, who performed the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera more than 2,000 times during his runs on Broadway, in Los Angeles and in San Francisco, plays the role of King Arthur in the production, which continues through July 15 in California.

Directed by MTW artistic director Steven Glaudini with musical direction by John Glaudini and choreography by Billy Sprague, the cast also features Larry Raben (The Producers) as Sir Robin, Jamie Torcellini (Man of La Mancha, Beauty and the Beast) as Patsy, Dan Callaway (Phantom of the Opera national tour) as Sir Galahad, Danny Stiles (Leap of Faith, Sister Act) as Sir Bedevere, Zachary Ford (Spamalot in Las Vegas) as Sir Lancelot, Richard Israel as Historian/Fred/Herbert and Tami Tappan Damiano (Miss Saigon, Cyrano) as the Lady of the Lake.

Rounding out the ensemble are Jebbel Arce, John Paul Bautista, Kathryn Burns, Nikki Della Penta, Brad Fitzgerald, Ashley Matthews, Madison Mitchell, Daniel May, Neil Starkenberg, Clay Stefanki, Matthew J. Vargo and Carly Wielstein.

Spamalot, according to Musical Theatre West, "spoofs the legendary tale of King Arthur's quest to find the Holy Grail. However, diverting a bit from the true story, this hilarious musical features such oddities as a line of beautiful dancing girls, flatulent Frenchmen and killer rabbits. Throughout the show King Arthur, traveling with his servant Patsy, recruits several knights to accompany him on his quest, including Sir Bedevere, Sir Robin, Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad. Besides the rabbits and farting Frenchmen, they meet such iconic Monty Python characters as the Lady of the Lake, Prince Herbert, Tim the Enchanter, Not Dead Fred, the Black Knight and the Knights Who Say Ni." The upcoming staging will utilize the original Broadway sets and costumes.

The musical features a book by Eric Idle, based on the screenplay of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” by Monty Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, with music and lyrics by the Grammy Award-winning team of Idle and John du Prez.

Musical Theatre West performs at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, located at 6200 E. Atherton Street, Long Beach, CA. For tickets visit Musical.org or call (562) 856-1999, ext. 4.