Spamalot BUZZ!!! **Spoilers inside!**

[clayfannj]

I cannot top Gwenn's , Micki's and Frankie's review of CLAY's work......

SO..I want to address another aspect..

Growing up in NYC and living near, I have been lucky enough to have seen my share of Broadway..


Last night was different.. from any one I had ever seen... Last night CLAY, OWNED the evening.

There was a magic, an electricity, an excitement that was visceral in the air...

The cast, the ushers, the stagehands, the NJU theater patrons were CLAYED big time..


They never saw it coming!!!

 THEY'LL never be the same...

We know that!!!


The first thing I was struck with   was the looks of so many of the non Clay members of the  audience and ushers faces as they with bewilderment looked around at what normally is a sedate scene of diverse people scurriosly finding their seats and quickly settling down, to what became a "family reunion" theater wide with cross row greetings, and aisle filled bear hugs and kisses!!!  What has come to be quite  natural to me and all of us attending Clay performances I suddenly realized was so strange and curious to this Friday night theater community...I can't imagine what it must have looked like peering out from the stage curtain. FAMILY WAS HERE!!!  

AND then...the audience response...The intensity , appreciation and..love for Clay's performance that all of us give so generously when we see him was offered up with the same enthusiasm to each and every cast member. It was infectious and we all bonded in joy for the evening . Audience and CAST together determined to make a magic happen and to reach the perfect marriage of music and laughter that only brilliant musical theater can achieve.. Every gag, every nuance  of humor was acknowledged and so gleefully applauded.And, the cast thirsted for more.

And you saw this at the end.. You saw it in his eyes, you saw it as his face  radiantly reflected the victorious night..

You saw it as the cast so respected him and showed what was the growing affection for him and the magic that we know he is..

THEY  GOT IT.. They were CLAYED...Just as I said before..  


Wherever Clay goes from here, I do not know.But I am sure of one thing. THAT CAST,  THAT THEATER CREW and THAT AUDIENCE will never

ever forget the night CLAY AIKEN  OPENED on BROADWAY...

[Glory]

                                         WOW JUST WOW AMAZING.

[Glory]

                                           JUST SAW A PIC CLAY HAS TEARS IN HIS EYES, AWE.

[WilsonClaymate]

                                           JUST SAW A PIC CLAY HAS TEARS IN HIS EYES, AWE.

Where was that, Glory

[WilsonClaymate]

                                           JUST SAW A PIC CLAY HAS TEARS IN HIS EYES, AWE.

Where was that, Glory

I found it in CM

[ILClaymate]

Here's the pic.

Clickable.....


ETA:  We have added a new Spamalot album in our photo gallery with lots more pics.  Check them out HERE!

[wisconsinmaniac]

A huge thanks to you Claymaniacs who were at Spamalot last night and shared all of the exciting opening night news!

Your recaps are marvelous! They are written with joy and with pride.  You all have captured the magic that happened on Broadway last night. 

Thanks for sharing those moments with us!

BRAVO, CLAY! 

[gagran]

Thank you all for the wonderful recaps. You all are so lucky to have been able to attend this once in a lifetime event.

A knight to remember indeed

[franniek54]

Here's a link for Spamalot Youtubes (Clay's not in them, sorry).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7M7K-acxGY



 

[fhmmany2]

Wonderful recaps!!!!!  Thank you to everyone who wrote one! 

[Marilyn]

I got the bestest present ever on Friday night watching our guy show his acting/dancing skills. He was phenomenal!! It was so smooth. and I really loved the entire show. Yes, it was silly-but I never laughed so hard in my entire life!! Not Dead Fred/Herbert was a scream!! That man must be made of rubber!

I was so proud of Clay- the English accents were spot on!! I actually used to talk like Sir Robin until I lost my accent!! My teachers in Brooklyn used to make me read all the stories aloud!!

What a wonderful performance by Clay-I just wanted to go back and rewind again and again so that I could see all the nuances, listen to that delicious accent, and watch that "succeed on Broadway" dance. Lord, I am so glad he took the role!!
The dancing? I saw no flaws at all, except for reaching with the opposite hand for the cup to put on his head for the dance. I LOVED this part SO much. 

I couldn't get close enough to Clay at the stage door-I did, however, get some very excellent views of his eyebrows!! 


I was gabbing so much at Sardi's that when I checked my watch, I saw that there was not enough time to walk from 46th Street to 34th Street to Penn Station, so I missed the 1:16 train, and the next one out to my station wasnt until 2:53!!!! YIKES!! But some very wonderful ladies from Clayversity invited me back to the hotel to chat and drool over pics while I passed the time away until the next train. I left there at 2:30 and walked to the station. Let me tell you, it is VERY VERY SKEERY walking along 7th ave in the city at that time of night. Lots of big skeery men hanging out outside bars and on corners. I never walked so fast in my life- and it was the longest 15 minutes I ever spent!! Yes, in hindsight, I should have taken a taxi!!. Got to the station at 4:30 and home by about 5:00. and I COULD NOT SLEEP!! So I got on the computer and searched for all the professional curtain call pics. I finally crawled into bed at 6:30- and my son came home at 7:20 And I heard him come in, and woke up! Dozed off again until 8:30 when all the ice tea I drank kicked in, back into bed- finally got up at 10:00 a.m.- I sure was exhausted.

Everyone else has been so eloquent about Clay- all I can say is that I want MORE- he is so addicting that I feel bereft when I cannot see him! The stage door pictures and video's are wonderful! Maybe next trip I can get closer and say hi!!

I have not heard one negative thing about this performance-considering that all of the other actors/actresses are accomplished and veterans, I think Clay did a most phenomenal job in this production. What a feather in his cap!! I wonder who else will visit during the course of the run (I probably wouldnt recognize anyone anyway) Hope we can keep track.

Next is the View!! I wrote for tickets, but considering how cold it is, I dont think I will be doing an outside wait for standby. Don't need pneumonia at this point in time (or evah!!)

What a RUSH this has been-Clay is better than any drug to raise your spirits and stir up your libido!!!

[Pepe]

What beautiful touching and eloquent reviews everyone has written.  A full picture of the evening and what the  atmosphere in the theater was like.  Sounds like a CLAY evening no one will forget! 

MARILYN, my goodness girl, you scared me to death knowing you were walking to the train station at that time of night in NY.  I am going to have to come over and  you.  Promise me you will never do that again. 

[Sundancer]

Marilyn wrote:

I actually used to talk like Sir Robin until I lost my accent!!

Um... excuse me?

[lovinclay]

Marilyn, you walked to the train station in the middle of the night???!!!!?????  Do you have a death wish, woman?????

[EthelB]

Marilyn and Marion are there. Ethel, toni7babe, Scarlett, solo and a lot of others are there.

MEESA, I'm a little worried if Ethel is there.  I hope she doesn't end up embarassing the entire Claynation by trying to get Clay's attention.  

           :(

[clayistheway]

Can someone tell me how the media reviews have been about Clay's performance?  Are they on a certain page/s within this thread?   

[Sundancer]

I read somewhere that the producers of Spamalot were going to wait 'til Clay had been in the role for a couple weeks before they invited "professional critics" to the show. So, there may not be any reviews yet.

[ClayHeart]

I'm so happy that everyone who has seen Clay in the play are very pleased with his performance.  It seems like he has more than pulled it off.  I was hoping that he could keep the sales up higher in the subsequent weeks, but the play has been around for quite awhile.  I don't know much about Broadway, but I would assume it's harder to fill a theater when the play has been around that long.  How are the sales comparing to the weeks BEFORE Clay started his run.  Are they higher now than they were then???

Well everyone, have a wonderful evening.

Debbie