“Find Your Grail”

Day 124

There are many different categories that people can be placed into, and most categories can be set up in groups of two, like two kinds of people. For example there are two kinds of people in this world: those who love and enjoy Monty Python and those who don’t.

I love Monty Python! And one of my favorite movie comedies is the cult classic Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1974). Years and years later this brilliant comedy was adapted into a Broadway musical and became a financial and critical success. The musical was called Monty Python’s Spamalot and it earned 3 Tony Awards in 2005, including Best Musical!

In 2007 I had the awesome privilege of seeing Spamalot during its tour when it was performed in Denver. I was given this special birthday card from my parents and I was so surprised and excited!

Now, neither me nor my mom had ever been to the Buell Theatre in Denver, but we weren’t too worried. We figured that we would be able to find it easily enough; so we got directions off of MapQuest and followed them to the letter. Simple, right? Wrong! The directions were not entirely accurate, or else we just didn’t understand them. We were driving around Denver, at one point ending up in a rather seedy part of the city which was just a little bit scary! And we noticed the time, almost 8 o’clock which was when the curtain was supposed to go up!

At one point my mom and I ended up at the Pepsi Center, and Mom was brave enough to ask one of the parking attendants directions on how to find the Performing Arts Center where the theatre was located. We actually weren’t that far away and with the revised directions we found our way. We made it to the parking garage, and the time was now almost 8:15! Mom felt so horrible, so devastated that we were late, while I just wanted Mom to be OK. Luckily, inside the garage there were some very nice, helpful parking attendants and they directed us to the theatre. Inside the theatre we were thrilled to learn that we would still be able to be seated despite being so late! Whew!! Our seats were near an entrance/exit door, so we were able to sneak in quietly and not disturb anything.

Poor Mom was so worried about getting us to the theatre on time that she left her glasses in the car and was unable to really see the performance. But her hearing was just fine and she was still able to enjoy the show. And what a show it was!!

The basic premise of the original movie was still intact, but there were additional scenes and a new character: The Lady of the Lake. She was a wonderful addition to the story, because the character is such a diva! She constantly tries to get more time on stage throughout the show and even has a memorable song called “Diva’s Lament (Whatever Happened To My Part?)” She was hilarious!!

Mom and I laughed so much during the performance, and at times we were a little worried that maybe we were too loud, but we were surrounded by an equally entertained audience. Everybody was enjoying the show, singing along to songs like “The Knights of the Round Table” and “Always Look On the Bright Side of Life.”

The performances were hilarious and brilliant, the sets were fantastic (especially Camelot, which was made to look a lot like Las Vegas!), the Monty Python-esque humor (bawdy and clever) was in perfect form and the music was incredible; so much so that after the show Mom bought the soundtrack and we listened to it on the way home, singing along and laughing!

I bought a t-shirt to commemorate the occasion,

and I still wear it from time to time.

Even though Mom wasn’t able to fully see the show, she was still able to enjoy it (and it helped that she knew the movie quite well and was able to follow along). Little did we know that less than 2 years later we’d get the opportunity to see Spamalot again (and Mom was able to actually see it!) But that’s for another blog post...

What else can I say except…“I’m not dead yet.” “We are the Knights who say NI!” “It’s just a flesh wound!”