EA Serves Up Laughs With ‘Spamalot’

Musical offers something for everyone, including Python fans

By Kristen Keleschenyi
The Tube City Almanac
April 01, 2025
Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News

Will Wilson, Jacob Ankney and Chris Cornelius are knights searching for the Holy Grail. (Submitted photo via EAHS_Musical on Instagram)

The search for the Holy Grail takes a goofy turn as the curtain rises on East Allegheny High School’s production of Spamalot.

The musical is an adaptation of Monty Python’s 1975 movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” parodying the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The cast at EA is slightly smaller than in years past, but Musical Director Amanda Rosco says they have been one of the staff’s favorites to work with.

“They have so much heart and it’s something that the audience isn’t necessarily going to know and see how much they have taken care of each other behind the scenes — the way they have cheered each other on,” Rosco says.

Senior Reily Fenters took the musical plunge this year and is making his stage debut. He plays multiple roles, including the Knight Who Says “Ni,” and says he regrets not getting involved sooner, but his afterschool job took up a lot of his time. “I cut my schedule back this year and threw all hands in and was like, ‘I’m just going to do it!’”

Fenters does a little bit of everything in this show — singing, dancing, but primarily acting. He says it is a challenge to remember all the lines, but “I’m getting better at it.”

Fenters has enjoyed getting to know his fellow cast members, people he wouldn’t have had the chance to collaborate with otherwise. He says it has been fun to see how what they have been working on for months is transforming into an entertaining show.

“This musical is hilarious,” Fenters says. “I think it is so funny — getting to actually watch it when we are doing full run throughs. I think once we have it all put together, it’s going to be a killer.”

People who aren’t familiar with Monty Python and the Holy Grail will not be left out of the jokes in “Spamalot.” Rosco says, “The music is fun. The whole show is like being caught up in a bowl of whipped cream and then you might start to feel like you’re drowning in it, but that is only because you are laughing that hard.”

These cast members are ready to cheer for King Arthur. Bottom Row: Kali Patterson, Theo Morfenski, Lily Bowman. Top Row: Camryn Savinda, Kyra Thornton and Addison Bernhardy. (Submitted photo via EAHS_Musical on Instagram)

And for people who are Python fans, “They are going to find lots of little Easter eggs, and they are going to notice things and pick up on some classic character nods to the movie, although the plots are not completely identical.”

Junior Sam Bryer will once again have the opportunity to stay in her comfort zone as the Lady of the Lake. “I love being goofy. I’m not that good at being serious so this is really natural. It’s fun.”

Last year, in EA’s production of “The Wedding Singer,” Bryer wowed audiences with her comedic timing and vocal skills as Rosie, Robbie’s grandmother. Bryer gets to sing more this year and has been working with staff to build up her vocal control. She says “Spamalot” is guaranteed to make people laugh. “Don't come with a full bladder,” Bryer adds.

There are a lot of reasons to come out and see this show including the hilarious props, which students have been working hard to assemble since they do not have a props manager this year.

Rosco says it has also been a challenge to find the right costume pieces for a show that takes place more than 1,000 years ago. “We had to figure out where to get some of these costumes because we typically rely on thrift store types of things and last I checked, suits of armor don’t show up randomly at Goodwill,” Rosco says.

Kristen Keleschenyi is a freelance writer in North Versailles Twp. and one of the hosts of the Kristen & Amber Show on Tube City Online Radio at 5 p.m. Saturdays, 9 p.m. Mondays and 4 p.m. Thursdays. She may be reached at kbishop25@hotmail.com. Editor Jason Togyer contributed.

Originally published April 01, 2025.

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