Malvern Theatre Society members and Malvern’s community are pleased with the performance.  

On Friday night of closing weekend, junior Bryce Murray sat in the computer lab, waiting for his shift of pushing out the castle and holding back the curtains for set changes during Malvern Theatre Society’s performance of “Spamalot.”

Murray has been a member of MTS stage crew since his eighth grade year. He thinks that this show started off as a “partial trainwreck,” but it has improved a lot after tech week.

“It’s been fun… I think the first show night was great. I think it’s pretty successful,” he said.

That opening night show, originally scheduled for Friday, March 2, was cancelled due to an afternoon snowstorm that resulted in early dismissals from school for many students. The performance was rescheduled for an unusual weeknight performance on Thursday, March 8.

Murray has heard nothing but positive reviews of the performance, despite the challenging schedule. “My family came and saw it, and they loved it,” he said. “I’ve heard a couple other reviews and they loved it too, thought it was funny.”

Based loosely on the 1975 British slapstick comedy film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “Spamalot” tells the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in a satirical way. The show includes lots of singing, dancing, and humor.

Junior Kyle Leonard is part of the cast as the lead character King Arthur. This is his second show after last spring’s “Les Misérables.” He is excited to come back to the Malvern Theater Society after his previous performance.  

Leonard has noticed some differences between this show and his previous one. “Last year we didn’t do much dancing, but this year there’s a lot of dancing,” he said.

Leonard enjoys all the different things the cast of his peers will bring to the table. “My favorite part is just working with everybody,” Leonard said. “They’re all good at different things.”

According to Leonard, “Spamalot” has received a lot of attention from teachers, students, and parents for good reason.

“This show has more levity, it’s really funny,” he said. “It’s more easy going. It’s going to be a different atmosphere.”

This is Malvern Theatre Society Director Dr. James Fry’s sixteenth year of involvement with MTS, and his eighth year as director. One of his favorite aspects of working with MTS is watching a production come alive.

“There’s a large cast, and you know one thing that I’ll say that excites me about the process is there’s a very supportive community of students both on and off the stage. At the same time there’s parents that are supportive of that. They come back time and time again even after students have graduated. That’s exciting,” he said.

Fry thinks that theatre is more than just what you see on stage.

“I think the bigger picture is why do people go and see theater? Why do people go see concerts, and go see movies?” Fry said. “My perception is that they want to be entertained. Maybe they want to forget about what’s going on in their life. Maybe they want to laugh a little.”