Emery High drama to present Spamalot

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The Emery High Theatre Department will present the wild and wacky musical SPAMALOT on November 21, 22, 23 at 7 p.m. each evening in the Emery High Auditorium. The admission cost will be $4 for students and children and $5 for adults. Tickets are available at the door on the nights of performance. Refreshments will be available for purchase during intermission to help fund the expenses of the play. SPAMALOT is the musical play version of the Monte Python Movie – Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The book and lyrics are by Eric Idle, one of the original members of the comedy troop Monty Python, and the music is by John Du Prez and Eric Idle. The original movie was produced by the Monty Python group in 1975 and starred Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Eric Idle. The movie was a takeoff on their popular BBC television series Monty Python’s Flying Circus. The play was recently released from Broadway and professional productions and made available for school and amateur production. Emery High is one of the first schools in the State of Utah to produce this musical comedy.
SPAMALOT is the story, put to music, of King Arthur gathering up knights to sit at Camelot around his famous round table. The knights are then given a quest, by God, to find the Holy Grail, the cup Jesus used at the last supper. The Grail is found and all is well. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. On the search for the grail the intrepid knights meet the Lady of the Lake, the Knights Who Say Ni, Not Dead Fred, the Black Night, Tim the Enchanter and many others. King Arthur also has to find a shrubbery and put on a Broadway musical. In the end, the message gleaned from the many adventures is “Always Look On The Bright Side of Life.”
The play involves 32 Emery High students, many in multiple roles. Spencer Fauver is Arthur, King of the Britons. Tanner Petersen is the Lady of the Lake; Madelyn Carter is Patsy; Savannah Woolsey is the Wench of the Water; Mark DeBry plays Dennis and Galahad; Melece Pulli is the Lady of the Grail; and Zac Clifford is Not Dead Fred. Hunter Potter, McKade Hansen, Reece Behling, Charlie Turner, Levi Jensen, Jax Gardner, Colton Timothy and Kaden Oakeson are all knights, as well as a few other roles. The Laker Girls, who accompany the Lady of the Lake, include Hailey Johnson, Aspen Bloomer, Brittany Fortner, and Kaitlyn Saling. Shantel Sitterud, Mariah Behling, Whitney Murdoch, and Sarah Roberts are the Knights Who Say Ni, the Reude French Tauntiers, the Minstrels, and the Flagellants. Cheyanne Carter is the Historian and Concorde is Ryleigh Winn. And the cast is rounded out with Jasmine Frederick, Jamie Gilbert, Randi Mecham, and Shelby Smith appearing as villagers and in many other roles.
Though the movie was a bit risqué in places, the play, with permission from the production company, is well edited for high school performance and is very suitable for the whole family. The comedy is fast and furious and the music is fun. SPAMALOT features “the Fish Schlaping Song,” “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” “The Song That Goes Like This,” “Camelot,” “I’m All Alone,” and many others. The play is under the direction of Neal Peacock, his 166th directed play, with musical direction by Marilee Cox, choreography by McKette Sitterud, and scenic design by the Emery High Stage Crew and the theatre classes. Peacock, the director, commented on the scenery, “This is the biggest set I have ever built in my 31 years of teaching and directing. It is really fantastic and I think that the audience will love the scenery as much as the play. Mark DeBry (a junior at Emery High) has been our artist and he is outstanding.
SPAMALOT lasts about 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission. Refreshments will be for sale in the adjacent lunch room during intermission with the proceeds going to help offset the expense of the play. “Because this play was so recently on Broadway the royalties and rental are high as well as the scenery and costumes costing a lot. This is one of the most expensive plays I’ve ever produced,” said Peacock. In spite of that tickets are only $4 per student and child and $5 per adult. Tickets are purchased at the door on the nights of the performances. Both the main doors and the north parking lot doors will be open to accommodate the audiences and help them into the building more quickly.