What's Hot From Spamalot 2/23

Well, I skipped a day in "What's Hot From Spamalot". Believe me, its not because there wasn't something hot going on at The Shubert. Its not because the weather is quite frigid in NYC. Its because I fell asleep and didn't get my report in early enough!! That's the problem with the media today, you just can't depend on them!! *grin*

• But today we do have hot news from Spamalot. And we'll start out with a YouTube video for your enjoyment. This is from...where else...the Stage Door!! And this one is from Tuesday, February 19.
  
  
  
  
• Next up is a review from strollynn63 at The Clayboard:

  Hi Everyone, went to the show last night. Rainy night in Georgia...ummm..NYC, but I swear the theater was filled. First of all, I haven't seen the show since the first one. Clay is amazing! His timing is perfect, his facial expressions, his dancing....OMG, his dancing, can slay a dragon.
  
  It was an unusual experience because.....I am not used to seeing NJU people. We usually see Claymates, and more Claymates. This time they were theater goers, lots of men. 10 in our aisle. I WAS IN ROW B PEOPLE!!! Close enough to look up Clay's skirt. and what a site he is. I know there were Clay fans there, but, mostly other people. I had to conduct my survey,..... because I'm nosy. "And what made you come to Spamalot?" lol
  
  A lady and her husband next to me loved Clay since AI and hasn't seen him in concert, so this was her first time. She was in heaven, and the husband was hysterical. Next to my friend ClaySeal One was a Greek man, loves Python humor, but he wasn't sure how this guy from AI could fit in.... At the end of the night he was on his feet, and said that Clay was a natural. The bottle dance is lethal up close, the piano look is to die for, the dead scene.....that big 6'2" frame laying out before my eyes blinded me and made me want to charge the stage.....KA-BOOM!!!
  
  He is flawless, throws in his little nuances, his huge eye contacts, laughing with the cast, them appreciating him, and him doing the same. The cast is wonderful. Loads of tweenies in the audience, everyone showing him respect, no calling out, but its hard NOT TO. Standing O at the end, and the confetti......Omg, he rubs it...and rubs it. So funny. So get ye to the theater if you haven't gone yet.
  
  No stage door,.... raining, but I did see Jerome take the two tweenies that were in front of us into the stage door. Lucky them! On kid combed her hair until I thought it was gonna fall out! Omg, pulling it to death...She was sooo excited.
  Shakespere said....."The play's the thing"! Hey Clay, can I be your play thing?????
  
  All in all, GREAT SHOW, GREAT TIME, LOVE THE BIG APPLE, AND CLAY AIKEN IS THE BOMB!!!!!!!!

  Our next review is from butterflyshine at the OFC via Okclayhoman at The Clayboard. Unfortunately, this one has some "not so hot" news about Clay...he did not come sign autographs because he is not feeling well. Let's hope and pray he begins to feel better and it doesn't turn into anything more serious.

  From butterflyshine @ the OFC....
  
  okay, recap....
  
  I like SRO tickets they give a new perspective and they are cheap
  
  The crowd was mainly nju...lots of families with children...the orchestra was sold out, as were most of the SRO's spots...waves to my new SRO friends from upstate NY....i think the theater was sold out but i couldn't tell from my vantage point
  
  Clay's first scene....the audience roared with laughter...he has that so down pat...the whole swallows and coconuts is classic and just funny as get out...
  
  The crowd also loved the I am not dead scene...again he is so comfortable and has his part so nuanced it is a joy to watch....
  
  When he becomes Sir Robin and sings his idol of the ages line...he got a nice applause and recognition....
  
  his ogling is down to a science as is his mimicking the dancers when they are dancing...he is just spot on...
  
  His hula got a nice laugh...
  
  the crowd loved Hannah and she was spot on as well....they especially loved her Diva song...and her Posh line followed by a bit of the song was great...
  
  The french Taunter once again had people gasping for air b/c they were laughing so much....
  
  Clay got several burst of applause for his solo...he really owns it and his cossock dance has improved soooo much...he no longer has a death grip on his fellow dancers...the grip is much looser and he totally owns the dance...he is such a commanding presence in that scene.
  
  Slightly out of order...but the Knights of Ni sang a song and it was hysterical ...and i can't remember what it was...they ended it with crack is whack.... very funny stuff....
  
  I am still a huge fan of the coconut dance...just love it....
  
  Clay continues to improve in his dancing it really does appear that he has reached that muscle memory point where it has become second nature to him...i cannot believe his cossock dance it is a amazing...
  
  tonight's peasant was a man, totally clueless but really cute....Clay did the fake hand shake thing...it was really cute...
  
  The entire cast got an ovation...applause wise i would say Hannah's was a bit louder, but Clay's was nothing to sneeze at...he seemed very appreciative....
  
  i have to tell you we had a belly laugher in the audience and he thought everything was hysterical...it was sooooo cute...to hear this guy just laughing and laughing away...
  
  We went to stage door and it was misting...i could see Jerome every time the door opened, it looked like he was ready...then it really started to rain and Jerome came out and said that Clay wouldn't be coming out due not feeling well and the rain...it was really damp and cold tonight don't blame him one bit...
  
  the Michigan contingency was there having made it through the storm...
  
  David Hibbard was signing autographs when i left...
  
  this review may travel...

  From the Clackhouse, and please note this if you are planning to see Spamalot on April 18-20:

  Just saw this at the CH....An important heads up!
  
  For anyone seeing Spamalot the weekend of April 18-20, The Pope will be in NYC. Interesting because it is Passover as well. I just got off the phone making reservations for our rooms and the city is booking up fast. Just wanted to let you all know if you are attending at that time and haven't finalized your hotel plans.

  Here's a partial review posted at The Clayboard by bulldog:

  By corabeth at the CH!!! Another awesome recap
  
  My February Spamalot recap……or You're just too good to be true, can't take my eyes off of you.....The Shubert is small, in both the lobby and the theater itself. I was surprised at how small it is. Sitting in front row, your knees hit the orchestra pit barrier. We saw lots of people filing in, many families. There were many teen boys including a 15 year old who sat near me and enjoyed Hannah's "costumes" very much. The military group (who we found out at intermission were Navy) filled the balcony. If this performance wasn't sold out, it was pretty damn close. It's hard to look at the audience from front row but when I looked to my left, I saw big grins.
  
  I thought in the Bring out Yer Dead scene that he added so many nuances to the scene, beyond what I could tell from the DHP videos. (I personally think DHP is too old for this role.) My vantage point allowed me to keep one eye on him while I watched the cart. His reactions were perfect. He held up his little triangle clanger to his eye with the round part over it during "Keep an eye on Lance". It was cute.
  
  Eric Idle's additions for Clay during All for One were perfect as it was a)funny b) showed Clay's voice and comedy skills and c) set the tone for the evolution of Robin and his relationship with the other (older) knights. He sang this right in front of us and I was very conscious of looking up with a big grin on my face. I know you can see the front row I could see the folks way over in the left orchestra quite clearly under bright lights.....Hannah blocked my view of him for a bit of Knights of the Round Table but what I can tell is that he never stops interacting with the girls dancing around him and to me, you can't help but notice him as his moves are smoother, his jumps higher and his overall dancing eye catching over most of the other people. Lancelot is a good dancer in a different way because he's short and rather slight of build.
  
  The Knights who say Niii sang Anchors Away and the balcony erupted. He said "Hmm, I think we have some navy guys in the house. Beat Army!" Clay's big number is something else. He uses the whole stage. His dance moves are wonderful, even little kicks here and hops there.
  
  People have described his move after the piano as a sexy shimmy. This seemed different. It was more of a powerhouse shake. Nanjeanne described it perfectly in that he seemed to become this big "Tevya" kind of man. There was power in those shoulders. His leg came up high at a 90 degree angle and he stomped like a giant as the other dancers answered his call. His grab of grail and hat was forceful and commanding. His leg lift into the first move was high and long and the look on his face was one of defiance. "I will nto be denied." It gave the impression that he was pulling that entire line. I think we are second or third row center for closing night. I may borrow one of CynicalOne's cigarettes after. That short scene left me feeling like I was spent and wanting more. For me, those few minutes felt like raw sex. I can still see his power, heck I could almost feel it. I want to see this man with his tossled blond hair, shirtless and sweating, in a movie.
  
  The rest of the show was just as great. Another funny moment is when he the minstrels were singing how Sir Robin shat himself. Clay walked out and covered his face with his hands in an "I'm so embarrassed". That was one of those things that Nanjeanne talked about, little things that add to the scene.
  
  The white tux fits him to a tee. The best shows he is neither fat nor skinny, just loooong. The vest hugs him nicely. The white shoes make his foot look like a downhill ski. I loved watching him dance on the right side. At curtain call, the dancing girls got a great Navy reception as did Hannah's tracts of land. Clay got a great hand both after his number and at curtain call. He was flirting with two girls behind him and one girl pretended to rub the other girl's butt. He looked so happy up there and when the curtain went down, he was still jumping and kicking. I'm hoping this joy is a combination of things going well with the show and with the album.
  
  General impressions of the rest....
  
  Patsy: All I could think of was that his back must kill at the end of every show because he spends most of it in a hunched manner. He complements every scene.
  
  Arthur: He's got a great King voice but I find him the weakest link. It may be because he's so short, he doesn't really move that well and he pronounces words funny (neither American or English). He's a fine actor but meh for me.
  
  Herbert, etc: You can pick him out in any scene. The only reason I knew he was a French Tauntor was because of those big round eyes. Fun, fun, fun. He's like a human cartoon as Herbert in the tower.
  
  Lancelot, etc: He's a good dancer and an incredible talent with accents. He's not my type but I was very impressed with him.
  
  Galahad: Chris Seiber has great timing and he and Clay together are comedy gold. At the bar later, we kept saying "DENNIS!!" in an exasperated tone. I think Galahad and Robin's relationship of big brother type reflects them both on and offstage. The rest of my shows are without him, I wonder how that will change the dynamic. MrNan described him as playing it like some sort of Sir Dudley Do-Right and I thought that was perfect.
  
  LOTL: Would you believe that is the name of my Church? Hannah has the kind of stage presence that Clay does. Her voice is wonderful and she plays with it effortlessly. I love her dresses, you can actually hear all those crystals move when she walks. I get a bit of an ego vibe from her but the kind that is more confidence then arrogance and she totally deserves to have it. And I finally saw the crystal lipstick that Invisible926 talks about. I hope she does more work in the US, I'd go to see a play just to see her in a different role.
  
  An overall comment is that the attention to detail in what is a deceptively simple stage design is wonderful. And those wigs are unbelievable. What I loved was how many different personas Clay gave Robin as Robin evolves. The pony that nanjeanne describes for pre-knighted Robin is right on. Then he becomes a refined knight in both speech and mannerisms and he grows from frightened man with false bravado to one of "hey look at me, aren't I something? Pride with an ocassional snarky look.
  
  If I didn't already love him, I would really love him.

  I love this next one from Mammat53 at The Clayboard. Looks like Clay lost the battle with a sharpie here!

  I have some very sad news for the North Carolina Hoodie lovers. Tuesday night whilst Clay was signing my Playbill be dropped the sharpie down the front of him. He loudly proclaimed "Oh Crap!", and fumble to retreve the sharpie and my playbill from his chest.. Then said "I won't be able to wear this again" My autograph is unique it shows the slippage. He autographed himself..
  Hope there is video.