On September 28 the California Theater debuted the musical adaptation “Spamalot” of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” — a hilarious mess of jokes and great vocals.

The setting of the play took place in England, decades in the past with a king looking for troops to help him rule. As the story progressed, the actors introduced the audience to witty characters and idiotic magical beings. To help follow along, the audience was greeted with a narrator who guided you through the show with ease so the audience was involved along the way.

“Spamalot” began with live musicians playing retro TV music which setting the pace of the show. The music flowed so well with the actors singing, it was hard to tell remember that the musicians were even there. The audience even had a laugh with the musicians when the actors periodically broke the fourth wall to engage with them.

The set of “Spamalot” starts off simplistic and becomes more detailed overtime as the plot thickens and the musical scenes broaden. The play starts off with just the actors and two walls, and becomes more complex overtime.

Additionally, this is a musical comedy show which means it must be funny and have equally great singing which some shows struggle with but the California Theater came through on. The musical aspect was exquisite and blended in with the story well. The actors were all vocally talented and hit the right notes as they were suppose to. They kept tone with the live musicians all throughout the show. Even when the actors would throw in a joke while they were singing, they still vocally meshed with the music well.

There wasn’t a point in the whole play where a joke didn’t captivate the audience or the singing made people want to leave. The comedy of the show was superb with the audience never being quiet for too long.

The musical was set during the medieval period so the majority of jokes were about death, famine, and the bible. It was a great comedy rip off of the film that got the ball rolling with the audience as soon as the first joke came about.

There will be three more showings October 5th through the 7th at the California Theater, and October 13th and 14th at the El Campanil Theatre. Visit the Pittsburg community theater website at www.pittsburgcommunitytheatre.org for more information on tickets and showings.