Sir Robin, one of King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, is on a quest for the Holy Grail. In order to find the grail, he and King Arthur must produce a successful Broadway musical.

James Beaman, fourth from left, performs in Monty Python’s Spamalot, at the Canon Theatre in Toronto until Oct. 5.

And, according to the knight, played by James Beaman, there’s only one way to succeed in New York. “Listen, Arthur darling, closely to this news,” Beaman’s character sings in the Broadway musical Monty Python’s Spamalot. “We won’t succeed on Broadway if you don’t have any Jews.”

If Sir Robin’s right, then Beaman is the key to the play’s success, because he is the only Jewish person in the cast or crew.

“It’s kind of fun to be the one and only,” he said.

Beaman has been touring with Spamalot since last December. The tour stopped in Toronto recently, at the Canon Theatre, where the show runs until Oct. 5.

Beaman started his theatrical career when he was 12 years old. He played Prince Arthur in King John, one of  Shakespeare’s lesser known plays.

“I had to play this boy who was abducted and imprisoned. It was a very dramatic role for a 12-year-old to play,” he said.

Beaman grew up in a theatrical family. His father was a set designer and an assistant professor at Boston University, and his mother was a playwright, director, actress and acting teacher.

“Pretty much, I was in it from the beginning,” he said. “I grew up in theatre. By 12 to 13, I was doing professional work.”

As a teenager, Beaman studied acting at his mother’s acting school, and eventually he enrolled in the theatre program at Boston University.  

While Beaman enjoyed classical theatre, he soon became known for his work in cabaret.

“When I was out of [school], I came back to work. For fun, I put together a cabaret act for a friend, who was a director. [The act] took on a life of its own. I sort of found myself almost accidentally as a nightclub performer for eight years,” he said.

Beaman began his cabaret career in Boston with Bacall: By Herself, in which Beaman portrayed musical theatre and film star Lauren Bacall. Bacall: By Herself eventually brought Beaman to New York, where he portrayed actress Marlene Dietrich in three cabaret pieces.

After almost a decade in cabaret, Beaman decided to switch gears.

“I started doing cabaret work as a way to get exposure, but it was turning into a full-time career. I really wanted to do theatre. I went back to school and refocused my energy on doing classical work. I spent about three years doing nothing but Shakespeare,” he said.

The skills Beaman learned during his cabaret performances transferred to classical theatre.

“Performance is performance,” he said. “Because I was a solo performer [in my cabaret acts] it gave me a lot of confidence on stage. I was doing very strong character work, impersonating famous people with a larger-than-life sensibility, so really, it wasn’t such an extreme shift. Shakespeare was close to my heart,” he said.

Along with giving him confidence, Beaman’s cabaret career helped jump-start his day job as a makeup artist.

“These are what we call survival jobs,” Beaman said, adding that when not acting, he’s taught Pilates. “When living in New York City and paying New York rent, you’re not always working in your profession.”

After learning to apply his own makeup for his cabaret characters, Beaman ended up working for various cosmetic companies. He also worked as a makeup artist for weddings and other events.

“Hopefully, Spamalot will continue, and I won’t have to have a day job,” Beaman said.

He had to audition three times before getting the role of Sir Robin.

“I love the physical experience of musical theatre. Spamalot, on the surface, is a silly piece,” he said of the comedic musical that was made from a 1975 movie. “But the piece is extremely sophisticated.”

In Toronto, for the first time, Beaman said that “Americans are woefully ignorant about Canada. We’re not entirely sure of what Canadian culture is. I’ve been to Vancouver, B.C., Edmonton, Alta., and Calgary, Alta. [The cities] couldn’t have been more different. I hear that Toronto is very much like New York in terms of diversity and cultural savvy.”

To read about Beaman’s touring adventures, visit his travel blog at http://jamesbeaman.blogspot.com/.