The Spamalot Half-Life 2 connection

The Lady of the Lake is a well-known star to sci-fi video game fans

Published June 18, 2009 3:01PM (EDT)

Another entry in the annals of technocultural transition:

I took my kids to see "Spamalot" in San Francisco last night. My son is a Monty Python fan and was already familiar with all the lyrics, so he was having a pretty great time. As for myself, I was pretty impressed with the vocal pyrotechnics of the actress playing "The Lady of the Lake" so during intermission I read up on her c.v. in the Playbill program.

[Merle Dandridge] "has also garnered praised for her award winning performance as Alyx Vance in the "Half Life 2" games series."

I informed my son of this and his eyes widened. "She's like the second most important character in 'Half Life'" he said excitedly. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but armed with this knowledge, he enjoyed the second act even more than the first.

That's how it works with the younger generation these days. You gain credibility by working in videogames.


By Andrew Leonard

Andrew Leonard is a staff writer at Salon. On Twitter, @koxinga21.

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