For Gainesville High alum, acting in ‘Spamalot’ at Fox Theatre means a lot

Sitting in the St. James Theatre on Broadway watching “Monty Python’s Spamalot” in 2023, Delaney Benson had two prevailing thoughts. Number one: She thought it was the funniest show she had ever seen. And two: She would give anything to be in it.

In December, the Gainesville native joined the touring company of this same production and will soon return home to perform on the Fox Theatre stage from Tuesday through Sunday.

“I saw my first Broadway national tour at the Fox, and now, 10 years later, I’m there,” Benson said. “So, I’m really looking forward to it.”

Claire Kennard (from left), Lindsay Lee Alhady, Major Attaway, Delaney Benson and Meridien Terrell in the North American tour of "Spamalot." (Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman/Courtesy)

“Spamalot” musicalizes the iconic 1975 movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” promising a night full of laughter in a fast-paced musical comedy. Benson and her fellow ensemble members play a variety of roles in each performance, darting offstage to change costumes and sometimes even moving set pieces.

“We’re tap dancing, we’re doing ballroom dance, and we’re doing a cheer number, so we come out with pompoms,” Benson said. “I would say that this is the busiest show I’ve ever been a part of.”

Benson understudies and occasionally has performed one of the leads, the Lady of the Lake, something completely different from her ensemble nights.

“When I’ve gone on for the lead, it’s a totally different type of beast,” she said. The role has very few scenes and 45 minutes of downtime paired with powerhouse songs. “I have to stay warm vocally and physically with her track, whereas in my normal ensemble track, I never get to sit down in Act I.”

Tours typically have a “put-in” — a dress rehearsal to give understudies a chance to perform their alternate roles on the set before an audience arrives. But the first time Benson got the call to perform as the Lady of the Lake, there had been no put-in yet because it was so early in the run.

Benson poses in one of her "Spamalot" costumes. (Courtesy of Delaney Benson)

“I quickly (took an Uber) to the theater, and they fit me in all my costumes to make sure everything was good to go,” Benson said. Her debut as a lead passed in a flash, and she was back in the ensemble hours later for the evening performance.

“It’s kind of an out-of-body experience, going from one thing to another so quickly,” she said. “But I’m up for any challenge, so when I get the call the day of, I’m like, ‘OK. Put me in. I’m ready.’”

Born to actors who have performed on Broadway and beyond, Benson began dance training in the kitchen with her father, Ray Benson.

“He would teach me a tap combination from ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ like ‘Moses Supposes,’ (with) the original choreography that he did on Broadway,” she said.

The triple-threat performer’s childhood included ballet lessons at a dance studio and community theater productions at Gainesville Theatre Alliance and Red Phoenix Theatre Company.

“GTA was great. When I was growing up, I was like ‘This is Broadway! Everyone is so talented,’” she said. “Gainesville had a lot to offer. You didn’t really have to go into the major cities to get training, and it was kind of in my backyard.”

Benson performing at Gainesville High School. (Courtesy of Delaney Benson)

Though she would eventually study musical theater at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Benson at one point traded in her tights for cleats.

“I literally told my parents, ‘I really hate wearing tights; I don’t wanna wear a bun; everything is itchy; and I’m really not loving it,’” she recalled. With their support, she switched to soccer for nine years. But when soccer practice conflicted with Gainesville High School theater rehearsal, performing arts won.

While “Spamalot” represents dream fulfillment, Benson has a few other theater dreams in mind.

“I would love to be Glinda (in ‘Wicked’),” she said — though she has heard that her height might prevent her from fitting into the character’s iconic bubble. “It would be pretty funny if they flew me in the bubble, and I had to crouch down because I was too tall.”

Her other dream role is Polly Baker in “Crazy for You,” which she understudied soon after college graduation and hits very close to home.

“My mom originated the role back in the ’90s, so I’ve seen bootleg (videos) of her doing it,” Benson says. Her mother, Jodi Benson, received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical in 1992.