For the first time since his last album beloved by moms everywhere, "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken made headlines when his people announced he'd be joining the cast of "Spamalot" on Broadway. Less than three years after the original cast of Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce and Tim Curry bowed in the show's first year, "Spamalot" has succumbed to the ol' show-biz trick which delights tourists and causes critics to roll their eyes: Stunt casting! Even though Aiken told Newsweek the show was "the stupidest thing I'd ever seen in my entire life" when he first attended it, it didn't stop him from accepting the job.
Take it from this jaded New Yorker: We enjoyed "Spamalot" with none of the original actors in it, but stunt casting is silly. If you have no interest in seeing Aiken's potential for comedy, put your visit to "Spamalot" off for a few months; there will probably be a funnier star filling in.
Why, "Chicago" has weathered Usher, Vincent "Big Pussy" Pastore and (in London) Kelly Osborne... and the show's still doing well enough to pay its Great White Way rent.!Now that fellow "AI" refugee Fantasia Barrino has left "The Color Purple," you can now see Chaka Khan in the uplifting musical. The Chaka Khan! Don't worry, purists, the theatre will not die.
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[Photo: Faded Youth Blog]]]>
