At Stratford, Monty Python’s ‘Spamalot’ leaves you smiling, humming

Tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!

Those lyrics, of course, come from the opening number of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” But you might also find yourself recalling them when deciding to see “Monty Python’s Spamalot” this season at the Stratford Festival.

While there are plenty of deeply serious and earnest works on the bill this year, Eric Idle and John du Prez’s Arthurian-themed farce is definitely not one of them. After all, like the material that inspired it, “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” — the sketch troupe’s first movie, released in 1975 — this show features a demonic rabbit, a dim wizard named Tim and a group of Knights who say “Ni.”

Just the thing to take your mind off the ongoing war in Ukraine, rampant wildfires and an impending recession.

What elevates the show, and incidentally makes it apt programming for a theatre festival, is that “Spamalot” is also a very clever send-up of musicals themselves.

In the 10th century, King Arthur (Jonathan Goad) of Britain and his loyal sidekick Patsy (Eddie Glen, doing a cute variation on his Ross Petty panto character) roam the lands looking for worthy knights to join him at the fabled round table at Camelot.

And so, while suffering through chatty, nonsense-spewing sentries and weaving through piles of dead (or are they?) plague victims, the pair are soon joined by the burly Sir Lancelot (Aaron Krohn), the brave Sir Robin (Trevor Patt) and the handsome Sir Galahad (Liam Tobin), whose first name is actually Dennis.

Lest you think only males inhabit these medieval times, there’s also the Lady of the Lake (Jennifer Rider-Shaw), who first pointed Arthur in the direction of his mighty sword Excalibur and convinced him that he would one day rule England.

Just how silly and irreverent is “Spamalot”? Right after Rider-Shaw’s Lady of the Lake sings her sweet opening number — which wouldn’t be out of place in a show like “Phantom of the Opera” — her nymph-like companions transform themselves into “Laker Girls” (get it?) for a cleverly choreographed and costumed football cheer. (Choreographer is Jesse Robb, costumes are by David Boechler.)

Directed by Lezlie Wade, the plot — which later involves the search for the Holy Grail — trots on with the same steady rhythm as the coconuts used by Patsy to evoke Arthur’s unseen horse. There are bad puns (I fell for “Come, kneel!”), ridiculous cultural stereotypes (a visit to France features berets, baguettes and mimes) and a fight with a soldier in full chain mail that is one of the funniest sight gags you’ll see this year.

Along the way, composer du Prez delivers some standout pastiche numbers, including “The Song That Goes Like This,” a perfect parody of a typical first-act romantic duet — dutifully reprised in the second act — and one big, splashy song that shows off the talented singing and dancing of the ensemble.

Some elements of “Spamalot” haven’t aged very well since it won the best musical Tony Award in 2005. The punchline for the second act song “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway” lands a little differently when you’re far from Broadway (in some productions the song is altered). And Idle’s sendup of the damsel-in-distress trope, although possibly meant to critique rigid gender norms, feels a little off in 2023, especially during Pride Month. Those could explain why two of Idle’s Monty Python colleagues vetoed a film version of the musical, which was in pre-production in 2021.

Still, Wade ensures this production, with a handsome, versatile set by Boechler, brims with affection. And it helps to have gifted performers like Goad, whose Arthur is appropriately plummy-voiced and mock heroic, and Rider-Shaw, who gamely delivers what’s essentially a history of every diva-esque style of singing in the modern musical canon. (One caveat: some of her lyrics were lost in the uneven sound mix at the performance I attended.)

Every good musical should leave you humming as you leave the theatre. Although it wasn’t written for this show, Idle’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” — which originated in the troupe’s 1979 film “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” — fits the bill.

In the face of inevitable death, suggest the lyrics, what can you do but smile and laugh? Perhaps “Spamalot” is deeply serious after all.

‘Monty Python’s Spamalot’

Book and lyrics by Eric Idle, music by John du Prez and Idle, directed by Lezlie Wade, choreography by Jesse Robb, music direction by Laura Burton. Runs until Oct. 28 at Stratford’s Avon Theatre, 99 Downie, Stratford. stratfest.com and 800-567-1600.

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