Associated Press Declares: "Clay Aiken can handle supremely silly"

Entertainment Weekly can learn a lot about a proper Broadway review from this latest Spamalot review from the Associated Press. The Associated Press was impressed by Clay's performance in Spamalot. Michael Kunchwara, the AP's drama critic writes:

Clay Aiken deftly acts supremely silly

Let's clear things up right away: Clay Aiken can handle supremely silly.

We knew Aiken could sing. "Idol," television's favorite trial-by-fire, proved that. So it was only natural that Broadway, eager for new faces that might sell tickets, would call — just as it did for Fantasia, Frenchie Davis, Constantine Maroulis and others from "Idol."

But don't go expecting a star turn. Aiken is a team player — and that's meant as a compliment. The ingratiating performer fits seamlessly into the extended high jinks of "Spamalot," which has been running at the Shubert Theatre since March 2005.

The guy gets the goofy humor that is the Python trademark and goes with the flow, most prominently when he is portraying the perpetually petrified Sir Robin. It's one of three roles he plays in the musical.

Aiken also exudes the physical buffoonery that underlines the cartoonlike nature of the characters and their quest to find the Holy Grail. He radiates a delightful benign bewilderment. What's more, for someone born and raised in North Carolina, Aiken does a credible British accent.