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Spamalot – 2026
July 7, 2026
We’re knights of the round table We dance when e’re we’re able Reviewed by Mary Alderson People tell me “Oh, I’m not a Monty Python fan.” Therefore, they haven’t seen Spamalot, and don’t intend to go. I used to buy that excuse, but not anymore. Are you a fan of laughing? Do you just like being silly sometimes? Yes? Go see Spamalot. No excuses! There’s an excellent production of this crazy musical now on the outdoor stage at The Grove Theatre in Fenelon Falls. It’s a beautiful setting, the bugs didn’t bite on opening night, and it was well worth of trip. And more importantly, there is one laugh-out-loud moment right after another. It helps if you know the Arthurian legends: the story of a mythical place called Camelot, and the fictious King Arthur of Briton, who has a band of knights serving him. They sit at the round table to show they are all equals. Somehow the cup from which Jesus drank his wine at the Last Supper is missing. Better known as the Holy Grail, this cup becomes much sought after, as King Arthur and the knights are sent on a quest to find it. If you think you need more background, see the musical Camelot. But if all this makes sense so far, see the musical Spamalot. Frankly, the silliness of Spamalot reminds me more of the legendary Canadians Wayne and Schuster than Monty Python. Wayne and Schuster were brilliant at taking something from the history books or Shakespeare, and skewering it into hilarious satire. In Spamalot, a historian opens the show, talking about the plague as if it’s a weather report for England. Just then dancers from Finland perform their country’s Fisch Schlapping Dance. I’ll leave that for you to see. But the angry historian has ...
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Mary's Musings
Karen Coughlin-Melo AKA Linda Ronstadt!
June 15, 2026
Great to see Karen on stage! By Mary Alderson, June 14, 2026 It was a delight to see the beautiful and very talented Karen Coughlin-Melo in a tribute concert as Linda Ronstadt last week. We used to see Karen on a regular basis, starting in 2005, when she had a lead role in a cute little musical called Suds. Suds was presented at the Hiawatha Horse Park near Sarnia. At the time it was touted to be a future location for musical theatre, but I think Suds was the only show presented there. The next time we saw Karen on stage was also in 2005, when she starred as Belle in Beauty and the Beast at Huron Country Playhouse in Grand Bend. She performed the same role the next year at the Grand Theatre in London. She sang all the Belle songs beautifully. Also in 2006, she played Patsy Cline in the musical A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline at Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia, where she wowed the audience with her country sound. In 2007, she was the beloved Miss Stacey, the school teacher, in Anne of Green Gables at the Grand Theatre. Her clear, bell-like voice was perfect for the role of everyone’s favourite teacher. In 2010, she was back at Huron Country Playhouse as part of the Country Legends show, where Karen again sang some Patsy Cline favourites, among others. Later in 2010, she played the prim and proper Sarah Brown, the Salvation-Army-type woman, in the hit musical Guys and Dolls at Drayton Theatre. To finish off 2010, Karen was the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Grand Theatre in London. Here’s what I had to say about Karen in my review: “Karen Coughlin is incredibly good as the Narrator. Her voice is in ...
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