Buffalo Spree Magazine

We sing from the diaphragm a lot:
Monty Python’s Spamalot is coming to Shea’s,
and actor Robert Petkoff is ready to fetch you a shrubbery or two.

By Joe Sweeney

Sir Robin and his minstrels from the Spamalot tour.

Everybody knows the symptoms of the child-like laughing fit: high-pitched yelps, free-flowing tears, the inability to breathe, and the occasional wetness in the drawers. Of all the fits I’ve experienced, I’d have to credit at least half to Monty Python (the other half would go to that scene in Steel Magnolias where Julia Roberts has a seizure in Dolly Parton’s hair salon). The British troupe’s inspired lunacy is just as hilarious as it was when I was ten years old, perhaps because it’s therapeutic to see a bunch of intellectuals throw themselves wholeheartedly into acting like idiots. With the arrival of the Tony Award-winning musical Monty Python’s Spamalot at Shea’s from May 1-6, Buffalo will have the chance to experience its first fit of hysterical laughter since being told a fishing store was the answer to its problems. Veteran Broadway actor Robert Petkoff will be one of the sources of this humor explosion, as the lovable coward Sir Robin. He spoke with Buffalo Spree about Python, Spamalot director Mike Nichols, and eighties television.

How did you become involved with the whole Spamalot experience?

I had auditioned for the role of Sir Robin before meeting Mike Nichols. Then they called me at 11 in the morning to tell me that Mike wanted to see me at 3 in the afternoon. When an actor gets that call, it’s a little nerve-wracking. But he’s just a terrifically friendly man to actors. Having done some acting himself, he knows the process. He was really great to meet, and very forgiving for anything that might have gone wrong in the audition.

Were you a Python fan before this?

I grew up on the Flying Circus. It’s one of those things—when you see it as a young person, it’s very funny, and when you go back to revisit it, you realize how brilliant these guys were, how smart they were. Their style of play is to never wink at what they’re doing. It’s very dry and very much committed to simply being with each other in the room. That is what is asked of the actors in this show: that sense of really listening, and just talking to each other on stage, like friends.

How much fun is it to be in the show?

One of the comments we always hear is, “It looks like you guys are having so much fun up there.” And we really are. When we’re having fun with each other, it really comes across, and the audience can relax and enjoy it. There’s nothing worse than watching a tired-looking cast, a cast that doesn’t look like they enjoy each other.

I’ve been a Python fan since childhood, and have constantly run into people who tell me they “don’t get it.” What would you say to those people?

I think they’re bringing an expectation of something else. When people watch Monty Python and feel like they’re outside of it, I feel like they’re expecting a Honeymooners type of comedy, a Friends type of comedy. What you have to do with Monty Python is almost childlike. You have to simply turn it on, and open yourself up to watching it. When you’re willing to go along with the ride, it’s unbelievably amusing. Python’s kind of madness may be specific to a certain sense of humor, but I doubt it.

Other than this show, what would be your career highlight?

Judi Dench is an idol of mine, and I had the great good fortune of working with her in London. She was just the most wonderful human being. She treated everyone, from the doorman to her co-stars, with the same amount of respect.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention your role as a bellhop on Who’s the Boss?

That was actually a great experience for me!

So, in your professional opinion, who is the boss? Tony or Angela?

Mona. I love Katherine Helmond.

Good answer.

Thanks.

What have your impressions been of Buffalo?

I got to see it briefly because my wife played Blanche DuBois in a Buffalo production of A Streetcar Named Desire. I was really struck by how big of an acting community there is in Buffalo. Living in New York, you get this Manhattan-centric sense of art, and with the National Endowment for the Arts getting cut down, you worry that the arts don’t matter as much in the rest of the country. Traveling around, you learn that’s not true. Buffalo was one of those learning experiences.

What’s your favorite way of preparing Spam?

As a joke, my wife got me some reduced fat Spam for New Year’s Eve. I thought, “I’ll just have a slice.” I took two pieces of bread, put some mustard on there, popped it on and had myself a Spam sandwich, and I was quite happy. I’m kind of embarrassed to say it, but it’s actually rather good. When you want a quick somethin’, I’d recommend it.

Joe Sweeney is a writer who lives in Buffalo. He became one when a watery tart threw a pen at him.

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