00:00So guess what's coming to L.A. and Segerstrom? Spamalot. Do you know what we have with us today? Chris
00:07Collins-Pasano, who has a major role in it. Welcome, Chris.
00:12Thank you. Very happy to be here.
00:14Yeah. So, do you know, I have never seen Spamalot. Can you believe it?
00:18I know. And it has quite a history. Let's start with that for people who don't know about it.
00:24Yeah, sure. So Spamalot is based, it's kind of having a pretty banner year this year.
00:30It's based on Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail, which I believe first came out in movie theaters in
00:361975.
00:37So the movie is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
00:41And then this year is also Spamalot, the musical's 20th anniversary, because it opened on Broadway in 2005,
00:50ran for over three years, closed, I think, in late 2008.
00:55And then there was a Broadway revival a couple of years ago that started in D.C. at the Kennedy
01:02Center and then transferred over.
01:04And now we're taking it out on tour around the country.
01:07Were you even born when it first hit the stage?
01:11I was. I remember my parents actually, there was like a little thing my parents would do for Christmas every
01:17year.
01:17They'd get me a CD of, once they found out I was into theater, they would get me a cast
01:22recording on CD every year, like in my stocking.
01:24And I remember getting Spamalot and wearing it out.
01:28I was a huge Monty Python fan from when I was a kid.
01:31So this all kind of coming together has been pretty great.
01:35I love it. OK, tell us about your role.
01:37OK, so I play Sir Lancelot, who, you know, if you know the kind of classic legend of King Arthur
01:48or if you're a fan of the old musical Camelot,
01:51it's not really the same guy. It's a little very, very different.
01:56No love triangle with Guinevere and Arthur.
01:59He is kind of a bumbling, very, very brave, almost to a homicidal point, willing to do whatever it takes
02:09for his king.
02:11So Lancelot is kind of on a journey of self-discovery in this show to kind of discover what's kind
02:16of really going on deep inside of him.
02:18And then but I also one of the best parts of the show for me is that I get to
02:21play some of the other parts that are famous from the movie.
02:24So I play the French Taunter and the Knight Who Says Knee and Tim the Enchanter, as well as Sir
02:31Lancelot on the show, which is a lot of fun.
02:34Wow. What's your favorite part about playing Sir Lancelot?
02:38Oh, man. I mean, I think just because I I've always been a big fan of John Cleese since I
02:47was young.
02:48So getting to kind of tackle some of his a lot of his characters from the movie and really get
02:54to kind of commit to the really amazing comedic style that he kind of pioneered in the 70s.
03:02It's probably it's probably the best part to get to do homage to him is really, really fantastic every day.
03:06Has he ever been in the audience when you were on stage?
03:10Oh, man. No way. No way.
03:12I think that at some point in while we're in California, maybe in San Fran or L.A. or somewhere,
03:20there's a chance that maybe we'll get to meet Eric Idle, who did, you know, was one of the members
03:26of Monty Python, but also wrote the lyrics and the book of the musical.
03:30So that would be really cool. When we were in Cleveland, we met John Dupree, who wrote all the music,
03:36the amazing, amazing music for the show.
03:38So we're hoping hopefully we'll get to meet Mr. Idle at some point.
03:42But oh, my God, John Cleese, I'd be shivering, shivering in my boots the entire time to try and do
03:48him justice.
03:49Why do you think it's lasted through the decades? Why do you think it's still popular all these years later?
03:57Man, I think it's a pretty interesting combination of stuff because the movie kind of became such a cult hit
04:04in its time and then has kind of carried on to having this complete life of its own.
04:08I mean, when I was in middle school and I discovered it, like me and my friends were quoting the
04:13movie all the time, which seems like what people have been doing for forever.
04:16So, I mean, the musical has the power of the movie and its fans riding with it.
04:22But then the musical kind of picked up its own kind of audience along the way, too, because you get
04:27it's such a perfect combination of that really wonderful sense of humor that Monty Python came up with,
04:33along with like Big Broadway Spectacle and Big Broadway Musical, we have like this incredibly talented ensemble that are dancing
04:41and singing their absolute faces off.
04:44And then Amanda Robles, who plays Our Lady of the Lake, you know, that character is not even in the
04:48movie.
04:49So she kind of carries her own cult status from the musical because Sarah Ramirez won a Tony from the
04:56original production.
04:56So, you know, it's kind of cool to do.
05:00I have never I've never been a part of something that has like a fan base this like kind of
05:04baked in.
05:05So it's very interesting to go out and do the show and like show like Leo Roberts, who plays Sir
05:11Galahad.
05:11He also plays the Black Knight and the Black Knight is like one of the most popular characters from the
05:16movie.
05:16And every time, almost every time he shows up on stage, there are these huge cheers in the house because
05:21people are so excited to see,
05:23you know, a recreation of that famous scene from the movie.
05:25So I don't know. It's like the audience from the movie has carried it on.
05:29And then I think it just got a whole new wave from the musical that still even 20 years after
05:35it premiered is still really going strong.
05:37It's really, really cool.
05:38So for people who have never seen it and don't know anything about Monty Python or whatever, will they be
05:44able to follow it?
05:45Oh, yeah. I mean, one of the funniest parts about doing the show is that the plot, I mean, the
05:49plot is pretty paper thin.
05:51I mean, we're just like it. I think it's pretty, you know, there might be a bit of an adjustment
05:57at the beginning to the comedic sensibility that comes with Monty Python.
06:01It's a very strange cross-section of like one part toilet humor and one part like very kind of like
06:10heady, almost philosophical comedy at the same time.
06:15But I mean, I don't know. I think there's something for everybody.
06:17There's dirty jokes. There's fart jokes. There's, you know, very like classic musical theater reference jokes for people that just
06:24love musicals.
06:26I think we have a little bit of everything. And, you know, we have that that song that's from Life
06:30of Brian originally, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.
06:33So I think at the end of the day, among all the zaniness and the craziness and the jokes we're
06:37doing, we are kind of hammering home like a very, a very simple message.
06:42And Arthur goes, King Arthur goes on this great journey over the whole show of just kind of like figuring
06:47out, you know, how do you soldier on when things look bad?
06:50And when everything around you in the world seems really rough, like what what can you do as just one
06:56person to kind of, you know, have a positive day and have a positive outlook on life?
07:00So, you know, surprisingly, almost, I think we come out with a pretty with a pretty strong message, especially for
07:05today, which is I was just going to say, it seems like we really need to see something like this
07:10right now at this point in time.
07:13We need to laugh, but we also need to be reminded of what you were just talking about.
07:17So anything in particular you're excited about for performing in L.A. specifically?
07:24Oh, man. Well, I've never been to Los Angeles, so I'm just really looking forward to getting to be in
07:29town and kind of soak up everything.
07:32I know this whole we're kind of like doing the West Coast right now, and it's like it's been really,
07:36really fun.
07:37I've actually I was at the Saverstrom last year doing Forbidden Broadway.
07:43I'm in one of the smaller spaces, which is like a little parody musical company that I've been a part
07:46of for a while.
07:47So that was really cool to be in Costa Mesa, to be at the Saverstrom.
07:50So now I'm very excited to be back to get to play the big space there.
07:53I think that'll be really fun. And then, yeah, I'm just, you know, I'm a big movie buff.
07:57I'm a big fan of a lot of things that have to do with Los Angeles.
08:00So I'm very excited just to just to be there and to soak it up and see everything the city
08:06has to offer.
08:07There's a lot. I hope you have time.
08:09Well, we got three weeks, so I think I think I can make a dent in it at least.
08:12I think you're going to have good weather, too. So probably everyone asks you this, but what do you hope
08:17audiences leave with?
08:19What feeling or what do you hope they remember?
08:22Oh, man, I mean, I hope they I hope they laugh.
08:26I feel like it's pretty hard to not laugh at this show.
08:29There's different types of humor for different types of people.
08:32And I don't know. I mean, we always hope that we do justice to the movie and do justice to
08:36what people are expecting from the show.
08:38But I don't know. I really just hope that however people come in to see our show, that they just
08:43walk out a little better than they came in.
08:45I think we can. I'm very, very confident that we can that we can perform that service for the people
08:52of Los Angeles.
08:53But I really I think I think that's kind of it.
08:55As long as you come come out better than you came in, that we did.
08:58That's so true. Well, thank you so much.
09:00And good luck. We look forward to seeing it and seeing your different roles in it, but especially Sir Lancelot.
09:07Well, thank you. I really I really, really looking forward to it.
09:10Can't wait to be in Los Angeles and Costa Mesa.
09:12Would you remind us of the dates at both places?
09:15Yes, I can.
09:17That's a great thing that I probably should have had pulled up.
09:21That's all right.
09:22Right in front of me.
09:23But I know that I can do it really fast because I'm I'm a pro.
09:30Well, OK, yes.
09:31Costa Mesa, we're going to be there from February 17th to February 22nd.
09:36And then we'll have a little break and then we'll be in L.A. from March 24th to April 12th.
09:41Awesome. That'd be a good Valentine's Day date, wouldn't it?
09:44Oh, yeah. I think it's a great date.
09:47Yeah. Any day.
09:48It doesn't have to be Valentine's because a couple of days after.
09:50But anyway, thank you so much for your time and good luck.
09:54Oh, my God. You got it. Thank you so much for having me.
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