Emery High drama performs SPAMALOT

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The Emery High Theat re Department presented the wild and wacky musical SPAMALOT on November 21, 22, 23. 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 involved 32 Emery High students, many in multiple roles. Spencer Fauver as Arthur, King of the Britons. Tanner Petersen as the Lady of the Lake; Madelyn Carter as Patsy; Savannah Woolsey as the Wench of the Water; Mark DeBry played Dennis and Galahad; Melece Pulli as the Lady of the Grail; and Zac Clifford as Not Dead Fred. Hunter Potter, McKade Hansen, Reece Behling, Charlie Turner, Levi Jensen, Jax Gardner, Colton Timothy and Kaden Oakeson were all knights, as well as a few other roles. The Laker Girls, who accompany the Lady of the Lake, included Hailey Johnson, Aspen Bloomer, Brittany Fortner, and Kaitlyn Saling. Shantel Sitterud, Mariah Behling, Whitney Murdoch, and Sarah Roberts were the Knights Who Say Ni, the Reude French Tauntiers, the Minstrels, and the Flagellants. Chyanne Carter was the Historian and Concorde as Ryleigh Winn. The cast was 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 was under the direction of Neal Peacock, his 166th directed play, with musical direction by Marilee Cox, choreographed by McKette Sitterud, and scenic design by the Emery High Stage Crew and the theatre classes. Mark DeBry, a junior at Emery High, was our artist and he did an outstanding job on the scenery and decorations.