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Monty Python's Spamalot - School Edition

Spamalot - School Edition is a slightly reworked version of the original Broadway script. The School Edition has been carefully edited, with additional director's notes throughout, to make the show more producible for high school groups. In some cases, problematic language has been changed, while in others an alternate choice is offered at the discretion of the director. The School Edition has been field tested at numerous high schools under the supervision of a teacher/director with forty years' experience in educational theatre. Every effort has been made to provide more opportunities for female actors. Reference is made to this both in the characters list as well as in the director's notes throughout the script.

More information

Description

  • Full Length Musical
  • Backing Tracks, Comedy

  • Time Period: Medieval England
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18)
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings

  • Performance Group:
  • High School/Secondary
The play begins with a historian giving a brief overview of medieval England. An idyllic Scandinavian village appears, with gaily dressed Finnish villagers singing and dancing to the "Fisch Schlapping Song." The Historian returns, irritated, and tells them he said "England", not Finland. The villagers disperse and the pastoral forest is immediately replaced by a dreary, dark village with penitent monks in hooded robes chanting Latin prayers and hitting themselves in the face with wooden boards. King Arthur travels the land with his servant Patsy ("King Arthur's Song"), trying to recruit Knights of the Round Table to join him in Camelot and his quest for the Holy Grail. He encounters various strange people, including a pair of sentries who are more interested in debating whether two swallows could successfully carry a coconut than in guarding their castles. Sir Robin and Sir Lancelot meet as they attempt to dispose of the sickly Not Dead Fred ("He Is Not Dead Yet"). They agree to become Knights of the Round Table together.

Meanwhile, Arthur attempts to convince a peasant named Dennis Galahad that he (Arthur) is king of England because the Lady of the Lake gave him Excalibur, the sword given only to the man fit to rule England. However, Dennis and his mother, Mrs. Galahad, are political radicals and deny that any king who has not been elected by the people has any legitimate right to rule over them. To settle the issue, Arthur has the Lady of the Lake and her Laker Girls appear to turn Dennis into a knight ("Come With Me"). Cheered on by the girls ("Laker Girls Cheer"), the Lady of the Lake turns Dennis into Sir Galahad and together, they sing a generic Broadway love song ("The Song That Goes Like This"). Together, with Sir Bedevere and Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Show (a knight resembling Don Quixote who promptly apologizes and then leaves), they make up the Knights of the Round Table ("All For One").

The five knights gather in Camelot, a deliberately anachronistic place resembling Las Vegas's Camelot-inspired Excalibur resort, complete with showgirls and oversized dice ("Knights of the Round Table" / "The Song That Goes Like This (Reprise)"). In the midst of their revelry, they are contacted by God who tells them to locate the Holy Grail. Urged on by the Lady of the Lake ("Find Your Grail"), the Knights set off. They are viciously taunted by lewd French soldiers at a castle they come to, and attempt to retaliate by sending them a large wooden rabbit in the style of the Trojan Horse; however, they realize after the fact that is was not as simple as leaving the rabbit and walking away -- they were supposed to be inside of it. Defeated, they leave in a hurry when the French begin throwing various barnyard animals -- including cows -- at them ("Run Away").

Sir Robin and his minstrels follow King Arthur and Patsy into a "dark and very expensive forest" where they are separated. King Arthur meets the Knights who say Ni, who demand a shrubbery. King Arthur despairs of finding one, but Patsy cheers him up ("Always Look on the Bright Side of Life") and they find a shrubbery shortly after. The Knights accept it, but next demand that King Arthur put on a musical and bring it to Broadway.

The Black Knight appears but King Arthur more or less defeats him by cutting off both his arms and legs, impaling his still-alive torso on a door, and leaving to find Sir Robin. Sir Robin, after wandering the forest for some time ("Brave Sir Robin"), finds King Arthur and insists that it would be impossible for them to accomplish this next task ("You Won't Succeed on Broadway"). King Arthur and Patsy promptly set off in search of Jews. While the Lady of the Lake laments her lack of stage time ("The Diva's Lament"), Sir Lancelot received a letter from what he assumes is a young damsel in distress. He is a little surprised to find that the damsel is actually an effeminate young man named Herbert ("Where Are You?" / "Here Are You") whose overbearing, music-hating father, the king, is forcing him into an arranged marriage. Lancelot advocates for Herbert after the king returns, and Lancelot is outed as a homosexual in the process ("His Name Is Lancelot").

King Arthur begins to give up hope of ever putting on the Broadway musical and laments that he is alone, even though Patsy has been with him the whole Time ("I'm All Alone"). The Lady of the Lake appears and tells Arthur that he and the Knights have been in a Broadway musical all along. All that's left is for King Arthur to find the Grail and marry someone. After picking up on some not-too-subtle hints, Arthur decides to marry the Lady of the Lake after he finds the Grail ("Twice In Every Show").

Reunited with his Knights, Arthur meets Tim the Enchanter who warns them of the danger of an evil rabbit. When the rabbit bites a knight's head off, Arthur uses the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch against it, knocking down a nearby hill and revealing that the "evil rabbit" was actually a puppet controlled by a surprised puppeteer. A large stone block showing a combination of letters and numbers is also revealed. After pondering the final clue, Arthur admits that they're "a bit stumped with the clue thing" and asks God to "give them a hand". The grail is "found"; Arthur married the Lady of the Lake (who reveals that her name is Guinevere); Lancelot marries Herbert; and Sir Robin decides to pursue a career in musical theatre ("Act 2 Finale/Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Company Bow)").

Characters

  • Casting: 7M, 1F
  • Casting Attributes: Ensemble cast, Flexible casting
  • Casting Notes: Roles marked with an * may be played by the same actor.

  • KING ARTHUR - The King of England who sets out on a quest to form the Knights of the Round Table and find the Holy Grail. Great humor. Good singer.

  • SIR ROBIN - A Knight of the Round Table. Ironically called 'Sir Robin the Brave,' though he couldn't be more cowardly. Joins the Knights for the singing and dancing.

  • SIR LANCELOT - A Knight of the Round Table. He is fearless to a bloody fault, but through a twist of fate, does discover his 'softer side'.

  • PATSY - King Arthur's horse and servant. Underappreciated but always longing for King Arthur's approval. Good, funny, physical mover with some tap dancing.

  • SIR GALAHAD - A Knight of the Round Table. Begins as Dennis, a lower class 'mud gatherer' who becomes knighted and transforms into the dashing Sir Galahad. Strong bari/tenor singing required.

  • SIR BEDEVERE - A Knight of the Round Table. An inept scholar. No solo singing.

  • THE LADY OF THE LAKE - A Diva. Strong, beautiful, possesses mystical powers. The leading lady of the show. Great singing voice essential, as she must be able to sing effortlessly in many styles and vocal registers.

  • HISTORIAN* - A tweedy academic. Must have excellent diction.

  • NOT DEAD FRED* - A sickly little fellow who, despite others' beliefs, claims he is "not yet dead."

  • PRINCE HERBERT* - The hopeful and frilly prince who loves to sing, and pines for his love atop a tower.

  • THE VOICE OF GOD - May be live or recorded. Eric Idle's GOD voiceover is provided on the TRW Production CD.

  • MAYOR and FINELAND VILLAGERS

  • SINGING MONKS - Males can sing offstage with female monks onstage.

  • SIR NOT APPEARING - DON QUIXOTE or any other well-know knight such as BATMAN the Dark Knight, a Jedi Knight, a Knight of Columbus, etc. This character is a good opportunity for a cameo appearance by a beloved administrator, local official, etc.

  • DENNIS GALAHAD'S MOTHER - A shrill peasant woman (often played by a large male actor as an homage to the original Python sketches).

  • THE DANCING MONK

  • THE DANCING NUN

  • THE FRENCH TAUNTER - An arrogant, condescending, over-the-top Frenchman.

  • TWO FRENCH GUARDS - Also arrogant, condescending, over-the-top Frenchmen.

  • ROBIN'S MINSTRELS - In Sir Robin's band.

  • THE KNIGHT OF NI - An absurd, cartoonish leader of a peculiar group of Knights.

  • THE KNIGHTS OF NI - Usually played by female actors.

  • THE BLACK KNIGHT - Who is always ready to duel despite multiple injuries.

  • PRINCE HERBERT'S FATHER - A wealthy, brutish Yorkshireman at odds with his sensitive son.

  • GUARD 1 - The lead guard.

  • GUARD 2 - A drunken, useless guard.

  • CONCORDE - Sir Lancelot's horse and servant.

  • TIM THE ENCHANTER - A Ghostly being with a Scottish accent.

  • SIR BORS - A Knight who will confront the killer rabbit.

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Digital Perusal Material Shipped immediately. This is optional. Order Now

    1 x Script / Vocal Book / Score Sampler
    Once purchased a link will be emailed to you allowing the download to take place.

    		$10.00
    Pre-Production Pack Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    1 x Director's Script
    1 x Cast Script
    1 x Vocal Book
    1 x Piano-Conductor's Score

    		$75.00
    Rehearsal Material Shipped a minimum of 3 months before the last performance. This must be hired as a condition of the License to produce this show.

    20 x Cast Scripts & Vocal Books
    2 x Piano-Vocal Scores
    3 x Director's Scripts
    2 x Piano-Conductor's Scores
    1 x CD (Spamalot Logos and 'Voice of God' recorded by Eric Idle)

    		$575.00 +$135.00/pm
    Orchestral Material Shipped a minimum of 1 month before the last performance. This is optional.

    2 x Drums/Perucssion (Bass Drum, Bongos, Chimes, China Cymbal, Cowbell, Finger Cymbal, Glockenspiel, Maracas, Mark Tree, Piatti, Ratchet, Shaker, Siren, Spoons, Suspended Cymbal, Tabor Drum, Tambourine, Tambourine w/ Skin, Timpani, Triangle, Vibra Slap, Xylophone)
    1 x Bass (Acoustic and Electric (5 String))
    1 x Guitar (Nylon, Steel, Electric (Solid Body & Hollow Body), Banjo, Ukulele)
    1 x French Horn
    1 x Keyboard I
    1 x Keyboard II (Keyboard, Accordion)
    1 x Keyboard III
    1 x Reed I (Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax)
    1 x Reed II (Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone)
    1 x Trumpet I (B-flat, Piccolo)
    1 x Trumpet II
    1 x Trombone
    1 x Solo Violin

    		$350.00 +$135.00/pm
    Broadway String Packet Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    3 x Violins (I, II, III)
    2 x Viola
    2 x Cello

    The orchestration for the licensed version of MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT contains a reduction of the Broadway string parts which are played by Keyboard II and Keyboard III. If you choose to order the Broadway String Packet for your performance, you can either use the live strings as a replacement for the Keyboard III part or alongside it to enhance the string section in your orchestra. However, should you choose to use the strings as a replacement for Keyboard III, be aware that Keyboard II remains essential.

    In addition, please be advised that the Broadway String Packer is an additional item and therefore, the Piano/Conductor book contains cues for the Keyboard II and Keyboard III parts, but not for the individual string parts.

    		$150.00
    Show|Ready Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    With Show|Ready, you can virtually send your Musical Director home with each and every member of your cast! Show|Ready allows you to play a customizable rehearsal track of your show, complete with individual vocal parts and all dance breaks on a Mac, PC, and soon on your iOS device. Your Musical Director simply uploads any edits made at that day's rehearsal and your cast can access and download the newest version with all of the new changes! This enables your entire case to rehearse correctly from the beginning, saving you valuable time and effort.

    With an intuitive interface, Show|Ready gives you complete control over which parts you hear, and lets you modify the key or tempo and cut, vamp, or repeat measures as you please. All shows include the piano, bass, drum, and all vocal parts, as well as a sheet music viewer that automatically displays the piano/conductor score and changes the page as you listen and navigate throughout the show. 

    		$300.00
    Stage|Tracks Shipped upon receipt of a signed License Agreement and full payment of all invoices. This is optional.

    Stage|Tracks provides quality performance tracks, edited to integrate your individual changes from Show|Ready. With the best sounding tracks at an affordable price, Stage|Tracks will greatly enhance your production if you do not have live musicians to accompany the show. However, you should be advised that while Stage|Tracks provides quality performance tracks of the full orchestration, it is not recommended to be used alongside live musicians.

    Please contact our office for a quote.

    		$0.00

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