Town Hall production is a nicely done, intimate take on the Python musical.

The Broadway musical Spamalot has been playing Broadway and national tour stages for more than 20 years. As a silly, larger-than-life spectacle, audiences might assume that Spamalot requires a massive stage and a Broadway-sized budget to truly land its jokes. While the national tours rely on a “bigger is better” philosophy, the production currently running at Town Hall Arts Center proves that an intimate search for the Grail can be refreshing. In this production, the comedy feels less like a distant spectacle and more like a shared, conspiratorial romp.

Capably directed by Robert Michael Sanders, Town Hall’s production leans into the characters’ noble search for meaning and the utter absurdity of their journey. And the intimacy of this production makes the audience feel they are right there with the characters, laughing through it all. Squeezing a spectacle of a show into a 250-seat theatre forces some creativity in the staging of many of the visual gags. But these “low budget” gags were arguably some of the funniest moments of the night.

In a massive theatre, a cow being launched from a catapult or the appearance of a vicious, man-eating rabbit can become an overproduced special effect. At Town Hall, these moments are handled with a cheeky, “visible seams” approach where the audience sees exactly how the magic is being made. The absurdity is more infectious when the audience is in on the nonsense of the gags.

The ensemble performs beautifully together, and it was quite impressive to see such a large cast executing tons of physical comedy and dance numbers on a smaller stage. Overall, the ensemble’s performances were balanced across the board.

Ben Stasny as King Arthur in ‘Spamalot.’ | Photo: RDGPhotography

Spot-on straight man

At the center of it all is Ben Stasny as King Arthur. Stasny is a master of restraint, bringing exactly the right level of dry, deadpan delivery that serves as the backbone of Eric Idle’s script (derived, of course, from the original Holy Grail film and other Python bits). By playing the straight man with such precision, he makes the chaos around him feel even more funny. He is perfectly supported by Caleb Reed, who provides a charmingly loyal Patsy, and Sherean Samimi, doing justice to the role of the Lady of the Lake with strong vocals and an unforced charm.

Musically, there are only a few songs likely to stick in your head as you leave the theatre, but “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” and “Find Your Grail” are both exceptionally memorable. Both are performed beautifully by this production’s cast.

| Photo: RDGPhotography

Strong choreography

A standout element of the evening is the choreography by Ronni Stark. Fitting a full ensemble onto a smaller thrust stage is a daunting task, but Stark’s work is incredibly well executed. The movement is sharp and synchronized. However, the production faced some technical hurdles on opening weekend, particularly regarding visibility. The lighting design felt notably dark, making it difficult at times to fully see the action. This lack of illumination extended to the house as well. The preshow lighting was so dim that reading a program was a challenge, and one patron even took a tumble while navigating the house in the dim atmosphere. For a show that relies so heavily on visuals, a literal “bright side” from the lighting booth would be a welcome adjustment.

Spamalot is meant to be inherently silly. It is designed primarily for fans of Monty Python and exists to poke fun at the Broadway musical art form while still trying to pass as a respectable musical itself. It achieves this with mixed results. While the book of the musical can feel a bit lacking in substance, this isn’t meant to be high art, and it doesn’t really need to make a ton of sense to be enjoyable.

Watching the show in 2026, it is also hard to ignore that the material is celebrating its 20th anniversary. While much of the Python wit is timeless, other parts of the script have not aged quite as gracefully. Specifically, the jokes regarding the Jewish community and Sir Lancelot’s “coming out” arc feel like relics of a different era.

Ultimately, this Spamalot is a refreshing change of scale from the bombast of the major tours. It replaces pyrotechnics with proximity and real human energy. Even with a script that shows its years and a need for more light on the stage, it is a fun, grounded night of theatre that proves King Arthur and Town Hall Arts still have a few tricks up their sleeves.