SPAMALOT

'''Monty Python's Spamalot''' is a comedic musical "lovingly ripped off from" the film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (1975). Like the film, it is a highly irreverent parody of the Arthurian Legend, but it differs from the film in many other ways, especially its parodies of Broadway theatre. Eric Idle, a member of the Monty Python team, wrote the musical's book and lyrics, and collaborated with John Du Prez on the music. Running since March 17, 2005, it was directed by Mike Nichols, and won three Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for Best Musical of the 2004–2005 season.
Idle explained the title in a February 2004 press release about the musical:

I like the title SPAMALOT a lot. We tested it with audiences on my recent US tour and they liked it as much as I did, which is gratifying. After all, they are the ones who will be paying Broadway prices to see the show. It comes from a line in the movie which goes: ‘we eat ham, and jam and Spam a lot.'

Contents

Synopsis

Characters

References to Popular Culture

Production history

Broadway 2005

North American Tour

London West End

2007

Critical reception and box-office

Coconut orchestra record

Other

DVD

Awards

References

Synopsis

;Act I
The play begins with a historian giving a brief overview of medieval England. An idyllic Scandinavian village appears, with gaily dressed Finnish villagers singing and dancing to the "Fisch Schlapping Song." The Historian returns, irritated, and tells them he said ''England'', not Finland. The villagers disperse and the pastoral forest is immediately replaced by a dreary, dark village with penitent monks in hooded robes chanting Latin prayers and hitting themselves in the face with wooden boards. King Arthur travels the land with his servant Patsy ("King Arthur's Song"), trying to recruit Knights of the Round Table to join him in Camelot whilst encountering various strange people, including a pair of sentries who are more interested in debating whether two swallows could successfully carry a coconut than in guarding their castles. Sir Robin and Sir Lancelot meet as they attempt to dispose of the sickly Not Dead Fred ("I Am Not Dead Yet"). They agree to become Knights of the Round Table together.
Meanwhile, Arthur attempts to convince a peasant named Dennis Galahad that he (Arthur) is king of England because the Lady of the Lake gave him Excalibur, the sword given only to the man fit to rule England. However, Dennis and his mother are political radicals and deny that any king who has not been elected by the people has any legitimate right to rule over them. To settle the issue, Arthur has the Lady of the Lake and her Laker Girls appear to turn Dennis into a knight ("Come With Me"). Cheered on by the girls ("Laker Girls Cheer"), the Lady of the Lake turns Dennis into Sir Galahad ("The Song That Goes Like This"). Together, with Sir Bedivere and Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Show (who promptly apologizes and then leaves), they make up the Knights of the Round Table ("All for One").
The five knights gather in Camelot, a deliberately anachronistic place resembling Las Vegas's Camelot-inspired Excalibur resort, complete with showgirls and oversized dice ("Knights of the Round Table" / "The Song That Goes Like This (Reprise)"). In the midst of their revelry, they are contacted by God (voiced by John Cleese) who tells them to locate the Holy Grail. Urged on by the Lady of the Lake ("Find Your Grail"), the Knights set off. They are viciously taunted by lewd French soldiers at a castle they come to, and attempt to retaliate by sending them a large wooden rabbit in the style of the Trojan Horse: however the only flaw in their plan was that they forgot to get in it. Defeated, they leave in a hurry when the French begin throwing various barnyard animals - including cows - at them ("Run Away").
;Act II
Sir Robin and his minstrels follow King Arthur and Patsy into a "dark and very expensive forest" where they are separated. King Arthur meets the Knights who say Ni, who demand a shrubbery. King Arthur despairs of finding one, but Patsy cheers him up ("Always Look on the Bright Side of Life") and they find a shrubbery shortly after. The Knights accept it, but next demand that King Arthur create a Broadway musical (in the United Kingdom, this became a West End musical).
The Black Knight appears but King Arthur more or less defeats him by cutting off both his arms and legs, impaling his still-alive torso on a door, and leaving to find Sir Robin. Sir Robin, after wandering the forest for some time ("Brave Sir Robin"), finds King Arthur and insists that it would be impossible for them to accomplish this next task, since you need Jews for a successful Broadway musical ("You Won't Succeed on Broadway"). King Arthur and Patsy promptly set off in search of Jews. While the Lady of the Lake laments her lack of stage time ("The Diva's Lament"), Sir Lancelot receives a letter from what he assumes is a young damsel in distress. He is a little surprised to find that the damsel is actually an effeminate young man named Herbert ("Where Are You?" / "Here Are You") whose overbearing father the king is forcing him into an arranged marriage. Lancelot advocates for Herbert after the king returns, and Lancelot is outed as a homosexual in the process ("His Name Is Lancelot").
King Arthur begins to give up hope of ever making the Broadway Musical and feels alone, even though Patsy is obviously right there with Arthur ("I'm All Alone"). The Lady of the Lake appears and tells Arthur that he and the Knights were in a Broadway Musical all along. Patsy also reveals he is half Jewish, but didn't want to say anything to Arthur because that's "not really the sort of thing you say to a heavily-armed Christian." All that's left is for King Arthur to find the Grail and marry someone. After picking up on some not-too-subtle hints, Arthur decides to marry the Lady of the Lake following his finding the Grail ("Twice In Every Show").
Reunited with his Knights, the king meets Tim the Enchanter who warns them of the danger of an evil rabbit. When the rabbit bites a knight's head off, Arthur uses the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch against it, knocking down a nearby hill and revealing that the "evil rabbit" was actually a puppet that a Frenchman was using. A large stone block showing a combination of letters and numbers is also revealed. After pondering the final clue, Arthur admits that they're "a bit stumped with this one" and asks God for one final bit of help. A large hand points to the audience and Arthur realizes that the letters and numbers refer to a seat number in the audience. The grail is found under the seat and the person sitting in the seat is rewarded ("The Holy Grail"). Arthur marries the Lady of the Lake (who reveals that her name is Guinevere), Lancelot marries Herbert, and Sir Robin decides to take up writing Broadway musicals ("Act 2 Finale/ Always look on the bright side of life (Company Bow)").

;Act I ★ Overture ★ Historian’s Introduction to Act I ★ Finland / Fisch Schlapping Dance ★ Monk’s Chant / He’s Not Yet Dead ★ King Arthur's Song (Not on Broadway Cast Recording) ★ Come With Me ★ Laker Girls Cheer ★ The Song That Goes Like This ★ He’s Not Yet Dead - Play Off ★ All For One ★ Knights of the Round Table / The Song That Goes Like This (Reprise) ★ Find Your Grail ★ Run Away! ★ The Intermission

;Act II ★ Historian’s Introduction to Act II ★ Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ★ Brave Sir Robin ★ You Won't Succeed On Broadway ★ The Diva's Lament (Whatever Happened To My Part) ★ Where Are You? ★ His Name Is Lancelot ★ I'm All Alone ★ Twice In Every Show ★ The Holy Grail (Not on Broadway Cast Recording as it requires an audience member's name for one of the lines) ★ Act II Finale" ★ Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life (Company Bow)

Characters

'The Court of Camelot'

★ King Arthur: King of the Britons. Has trouble counting to three. ★ Sir Lancelot the Homicidally Brave: A near psychopathic knight "with a difference." ★ Sir Robin, the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot: A cowardly knight well versed in the world of musical theatre. ★ Sir Dennis Galahad, The Dashingly Handsome: Formerly Dennis Galahad, a politically active peasant. ★ Sir Bedevere, The Strangely Flatulent: A wise but smelly knight.

★ Patsy: King Arthur's trusty servant/steed and constant companion. He is half Jewish. ★ Concord: Lancelot's trusty servant/steed. Can survive an arrow to the chest. ★ Brother Maynard: Arthur's go-to guy for God. ★ Sir Bors: An Unlucky victim of the Killer Rabbit of Antioch ★ Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Show: That pretty much sums it up. Dressed as Don Quixote.

'Other characters'

★ The Lady of the Lake: An aquatic diva. ★ Not-Dead Fred: He's not dead yet. He’s getting better. ★ Robin's Lead Minstrel: Who never knows when to shut the bloody 'ell up. ★ The King of Swamp Castle (aka Herbert's Father): A hardhearted, moneygrubbing king who hates music. ★ Prince Herbert: His son. Loves to sing, and is about as butch as Minnie Mouse. ★ French Taunter: A French soldier who enjoys taunting. ★ The Black Knight: A psychotic, invincible knight who will fight even after all his arms and legs have been cut off. ★ The Head Knight who says "Ni!": The huge leader of the most feared Cult in the land: The dreaded knights who say "Ni!". Enjoys shrubberies. ★ Tim the Enchanter: a pyromaniac. ★ Dennis's mother: A Pepperpot. A politically active peasant.

★ The Killer Rabbit of Antioch: A bloodthirsty bunny puppet with big nasty teeth. ★ Two Guards: One has trouble understanding simple concepts, one hiccups a lot. ★ Two Sentries: At an unspecified castle. They enjoy talking about swallows and coconuts. ★ A Historian: Our Narrator ★ The Mayor of Finland: A character who really shouldn’t be in this musical. ★ The Laker Girls: The Lady of the Lake's backup dancers/cheerleaders. ★ Knights of the Round Table: They dance when e'er they're able. ★ Robin’s Minstrels: His back-up group. ★ God: Who sounds a lot like John Cleese. By God it is! ★ Holder of the Holy Grail: Whoever happens to be sitting in a certain seat at that performance.

In tribute to the film, where six actors played the majority of all male parts (and a few female ones), several actors play multiple roles; the only major characters not doubling are Arthur and the Lady of the Lake. In the Broadway production, the following Doubling is used:

★ Lancelot/2nd Sentry/The French Taunter/Knight of Ni/Tim the Enchanter

★ Robin/1st Sentry/1st Guard/Brother Maynard

★ Galahad/King of Swamp Castle/Black Knight

★ Patsy/Mayor of Finland/2nd Guard

★ Bedevere/Mrs. Galahad/Concord

★ The Historian/Herbert/Not Dead Fred/Lead Minstrel/The French Taunter's Best Friend
Sara Ramirez was intended to double as a witch and as the cow launched from the French castle, but both parts were cut from the final script. In addition, several pairs of characters originally played by the same Monty Python member were reduced to one: the Dead Collector and Sir Robin (Eric Idle), the Large Man with a Dead Body and Sir Lancelot (John Cleese), and Dennis the Politically-Active Peasant and Sir Galahad (Michael Palin).

References to Popular Culture

There are several sections in the script that call for improvisation on the part of the actors, who often take the opportunity to reference current events or local culture. Historically, these have been added during the French Taunter scene in Act I, during the Knights of Ni scene, and during the peasant scene at end of the show.

★ The 2005 Chicago pre-Broadway run contained the line "But you are on Broadway! Well. ..Broadway in Chicago."

★ In the Knights of Ni scene, they have referred to the song "SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake, "London Bridge" by Fergie, "Milkshake" by Kelis, "My Humps" by The Black Eyed Peas, "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp" by Three 6 Mafia, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

★ The Head Knight who says "Ni!" has claimed that he is "the father of Anna Nicole's baby" on Broadway during the Knights of Ni scene. Following the laughter/light booing of this line the Head Knight turns to the audience saying, "What, too soon?" The comment was made less than two weeks after her death. After ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' came out, he said instead "So, it turns out Harry Potter is the father of Anna Nicole's baby!". He also has said "So, Harry Potter dies at the end, eh?"

★ The Lady of the Lake has mimed shaving her head when she sings the line in "Diva's Lament" about being replaced by Britney Spears.
The play has the line, "you will be forever revered here in (city name), along with (blank), (blank), and (blank)." The second set of blanks is sometimes two people or items, other times three. The following chart shows the various (blank)s that were used (not necessarily every one at every show). Another common variation is Sir Robin's piano solo incorporating local music.

Local references

City	Musical references	Local Celebrities	Miscellany
Washington, D.C.			Actors nonchalantly gave scores to the 2006 FIFA World Cup to each other, which was going on at the time.
Toronto	''Hockey Night In Canada's theme (also known as ''Canada's Second National Anthem'')		During the French taunting scene, The French Taunter threatened to head-butt Arthur in the chest, in reference to the French football player Zinedine Zidane's infamous act in the World Cup final, which completed days before.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Local Steelers song		French Taunter threatened to, "...wave my Terrible Towel at you"
Charlotte, NC		Jake Delhomme, Jeff Gordon
Detroit, Michigan		Henry Ford, Eminem
Fort Lauderdale, Florida		Wayne Huizenga
Tampa, Florida		Bern's Steakhouse	(Bern's is a famous local restaurant)
Naples, Florida		Bill Barnett, Judge Judy	(Barnett is the mayor)
Memphis, Tennessee	The Knight who Formerly Said Ni also sings part of the Marc Cohn song, "Walking in Memphis."	Elvis, the King, B.B. King, Federal Express
Atlanta, Georgia	Riffed from Alan Jackson's song "Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee, it gets hotter than a hoochie coochie." Also played the theme from Gone with the Wind.	Ted Turner, Mei Lan the panda, Margaret Mitchell, Coca-Cola
Baltimore, Maryland	Played ''Heart and Soul.''	John Waters, Edgar Allan Poe
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania		Liberty Bell, Cheesesteaks, Benjamin Franklin, Rocky Balboa
Hartford, Connecticut	ESPN's ''SportsCenter'' theme.	Harriet Beecher Stowe, Joe Lieberman	(ESPN in based in nearby Bristol)
Boston, Massachusetts	Theme to Cheers. The Knights of Ni sang a snippet of "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp".
Rochester, New York		Eastman Kodak, Dinosaur Barbecue
Buffalo, New York		Buffalo Sabres professional hockey team.
Indianapolis, Indiana	John Mellencamp (native Hoosier)	Peyton Manning
Louisville, Kentucky	During the overture, part of the Call to the Post was played. The Kentucky Derby is run in Louisville	Diane Sawyer, Colonel Sanders
Houston, Texas	Deep in the Heart of Texas, Over the Rainbow	Yao Ming
Des Moines, Iowa	Bon Jovi, The Nights of Ni referenced "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse	The Butter Cow (from the Iowa State Fair)	The Knights Who Say Ni reference Harry Potter ("Harry, Ron, and Hermione all die by page eight!") on the day the seventh book went for sale
Dallas, Texas	Deep in the Heart of Texas, Bohemian Rhapsody, I Will Survive	Mark Cuban	The Knights of Ni choose a new word that ends with "Hot Pockets."
Tulsa, Oklahoma		Roy Clark, The Plymouth Belvedere
St. Paul, Minnesota		Jesse Ventura
Kansas City	Dust in the Wind by Kansas	Harry Truman, Arthur Bryant	"Arthur Bryant's" is a popular local barbecue restaurant; Truman was born in nearby Independence, MO.
Portland, Oregon		Tonya Harding
Salt Lake City, Utah		Donny & Marie

Production history

Previews of the show began in Chicago's Shubert Theatre (now the LaSalle Bank Theatre) on December 21, 2004; the show officially opened there on January 9, 2005 and was practically sold-out.
Two musical numbers were dropped from Act One while the production was still in Chicago. During the scene set in the "Witch Village," the song "Burn Her!" was originally performed by "Sir Bedevere, The Witch, Sir Robin, Lance and Villagers." At the French Castle, "The Cow Song," in a parody of a stereotypical film noir/cabaret style, was performed by "The Cow and French Citizens." Before the two songs were cut in Chicago, the lead vocals in both songs were sung by Sara Ramirez. This gave her a total of six songs in Act One, but no further appearances until scene five in Act Two, for "The Diva's Lament."

Broadway 2005

The musical previewed on Broadway, at New York's Shubert Theatre, beginning February 14, 2005, and, after some changes, officially opened on March 17, 2005. The Broadway previews were practically sold-out, leaving only obstructed view tickets for sale.
The original Broadway cast included Tim Curry as King Arthur, Michael McGrath as Patsy, David Hyde Pierce as Sir Robin, Hank Azaria as Sir Lancelot and other roles (e.g., the French Taunter, Knight of Ni, and Tim the Enchanter), Christopher Sieber as Sir Galahad and other roles (e.g. the Black Knight and Prince Herbert's Father), and Sara Ramirez as the Lady of the Lake. It also included Christian Borle as Prince Herbert and other roles (e.g. Historian and Not Dead Fred), Steve Rosen as Sir Bedevere and other roles (e.g., Concorde and Dennis' Mother) and John Cleese as the (recorded) Voice of God.

★ Azaria's roles were taken over by Alan Tudyk starting June 7, 2005.

★ Azaria returned to the cast on December 2, 2005 after working on a new season of ''Huff''.

★ Ramirez left on December 18, 2005 to be replaced by Lauren Kennedy.

★ Simon Russell Beale took over Curry's role as the King on December 20, 2005.

★ On April 4, 2006, Azaria and Pierce were replaced by Steve Kazee and Martin Moran, respectively.

★ Beale was replaced by Harry Groener on April 26, 2006.

★ Sieber was replaced by Lewis Cleale on July 5, 2006.

★ On October 31, 2006, Harry Groener was replaced by Jonathan Hadary and Lauren Kennedy by Marin Mazzie.

★ Borle was replaced by Tom Deckman, who moved from the North American Tour, on November 28, 2006.

★ Rick Holmes, from the North American Tour, took over as Lancelot/French Taunter/Knight of Ni/Tim The Enchanter in December, 2006

North American Tour

A North American tour of the musical commenced in the spring of 2006 and the cast included Michael Siberry as King Arthur, Jeff Dumas as Patsy/Mayor/Guard, David Turner as Robin/Guard/Brother Maynard, Rick Holmes as Lancelot/French Taunter/Knight of Ni/Tim The Enchanter, Bradley Dean as Galahad/Black Knight/Herbert's Father, Tom Deckman as The Historian/Not Dead Fred/French Guard/Minstrel/Prince Herbert, Christopher Gurr as Sir Bedevere/Dennis' Mother/Concorde, and Pia Glenn as the Lady of the Lake.
The tour won three 2007 Touring Broadway Awards, including Best New Musical.

★ November 2006

★
★ Tom Deckman left the company and Christopher Sutton assumed the roles of The Historian/Not Dead Fred/French Guard/Minstrel/Prince Herbert

★
★
★ Tom Deckman subsequently joined the Broadway production

★ December 2006

★
★ David Turner left the company and Robert Petkoff assumed the roles of Robin/Guard/Brother Maynard

★
★ Rick Holmes left the company and Patrick Heusinger assumed the roles of Lancelot/French Taunter/Knight of Ni/Tim The Enchanter

★
★
★ Rick Holmes subsequently joined the Broadway production

★
★ Bradley Dean left the company and Anthony Holds assumed the roles of Galahad/Black Knight/Herbert's Father

London West End

A London production opened at the Palace Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, commencing 30 September 2006 (London première 17 October) with tickets on sale booking to 3 November 2007. Curry reprised his Broadway role as King Arthur until December with Simon Russell Beale taking over since January. Christopher Sieber also reprises his role as Sir Galahad before leaving early 2007 to be replaced by Graham McDuff. Hannah Waddingham plays the Lady of the Lake, Tom Goodman-Hill plays Sir Lancelot, Robert Hands plays Sir Robin, David Birell plays Patsy, Tony Timberlake plays Sir Bedevere and Darren Southworth plays Prince Herbert.
Simon Russell Beale and Tom Goodman-Hill finished on July 21st 2007. They were replaced with Peter Davison and Bill Ward, respectively.

2007

A production of the musical began previews on March 8, 2007 and opened on March 31, 2007 at the Wynn Las Vegas in the resort's "Grail Theater." The site was formerly known as the "Broadway Theater" and housed a production of ''Avenue Q,'' but the balcony has been extended to allow for more seating and the interiors have been redesigned. As with other Las Vegas transfers of Broadway musicals, including Phantom of the Opera, Spamalot has been condensed to run 90 minutes without an intermission. Although initially contracted to run for up to 10 years,^[1] Broadway musicals have had a mixed track record in Las Vegas. Starlight Express had a successful four-year run at the Las Vegas Hilton and, more recently, Mamma Mia! has entered the fourth year of a successful run at Mandalay Bay, but other recent efforts, including Hairspray and Spamalot's predecessor Avenue Q have notably flopped.
Among the cuts required to bring the Las Vegas version of the show in at about 90 minutes include the song "All For One", the Knights of Ni receiving their shrubbery, and the "Make sure he doesn't leave" scene with Prince Herbert's guards.^[2]
John O'Hurley, known for his J. Peterman character on ''Seinfeld'' and the current ''Family Feud'' host, will play King Arthur.^[3] Due to the Las Vegas production, the North American touring company will not perform in California, Arizona, or Nevada.^[4] In addition, the cast will include Nikki Crawford as Lady of the Lake, Edward Staudenmayer as Galahad, Tony Crane as Lancelot, Harry Bouvy as Robin, Justin Beill as Patsy, Steven Strafford as Herbert, and Randal Keith as Sir Bedevere.
A new Australian production is planned for 2007. This was officially announced at the Palace Theatre on the 14th July 2007 live on Australian TV by Eric Idle during the Mantinee performance. Several actors asked if they would be included in the new show, in a traditional comedy style they were turned down. The show is due to première in Melbourne on November 23 at Her Majesty's Theatre. ^[5] Popular Australian singer and comedienne Gina Riley (best known for her work in the sitcom ''Kath and Kim'') auditioned for the role of the Lady of the Lake.^[6] However, the role has since been announced as filled by Sydney performer Lucinda Shaw, whose past credits include We Will Rock You and Pippin. Eric Idle had also expressed interest in Australian actor Geoffrey Rush playing King Arthur, to which Rush replied, "it would be fun to do". ^[7]
The role was officially announced on 31 July 2007, as being filled by Bille Brown. Other confirmed cast include Ben Lewis, Stephen Hall, Derek Metzger, David Whitney and Mark Conaghan.

Critical reception and box-office

The original production has been both a financial and critical success. ''Variety'' reported advance ticket sales of $18 million, with ticket prices ranging from $36 to $179. The advance made Broadway box office history.
The show proved to be an early success when moving to London's West End. After high advance ticket sales the show's run was extended by four weeks — four months before the show's run commenced.^[8]
The play makes many references to the film and other material in the Python canon, including a line from "The Lumberjack Song", nods to "Ministry of Silly Walks," the Election Night Special and "Dead Parrot Sketch" routines, a bar from the Spam song worked into "Knights of the Round Table", a rendition of the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from the film ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (1979), and the "Fisch Schlapping Song" which is a reference to both "The Fish-Slapping Dance" and the song "Finland." Another reference is actually part of the ''Playbill'' of the show; there are several gag pages about a musical entitled "Dik Od Triaanenen Fol (Finns Ain't What They Used To Be)". This gag programme was written by Michael Palin.
Broadway musical fans appreciate its visual and auditory references to other musicals and musical theatre in general, such as: "The Song That Goes Like This" (a spoof of Andrew Lloyd Webber productions and many other Broadway power ballads); the knights doing a dance reminiscent of ''Fiddler on the Roof'', as well as a dance reminiscent of ''West Side Story'' (complete with music); Sir Lancelot's mimicking of Peter Allen in "His Name Is Lancelot"; the character of Sir Not Appearing in This Show being Don Quixote; a member of the French "army" dressed as Eponine from ''Les Misérables''; and a line pulled from "Another Hundred People" from Stephen Sondheim's ''Company'' by the "damsel" Herbert. The song "You Won't Succeed (On Broadway)" also parodies ''The Producers'' and ''Yentl''.
The show has not though been without criticism from Monty Python fans who believe it has betrayed the original spirit of the group. In Slate, Sam Anderson wrote
:Python was formed in reaction to exactly the kind of lazy comedy represented by ''Spamalot''—what Michael Palin once described as the 'easy, catch-phrase reaction' the members had all been forced to pander in their previous writing jobs ... ''Spamalot'' is the gaudy climax of a long, unfunny tradition of post-Python exploitation—books, actions figures, video games—that treats the old material as a series of slogans to be referenced without doing any of the work that made the lines so original in the first place.^[9]
Among fellow Python members, the reviews are mixed. Terry Gilliam, in an audio interview, name='tgint">Quickcast Interview with Terry Gilliam by Ken Plume describes it as "Python-like". John Cleese, who is the recorded voice of God in the musical, is said to have liked it, though Michael Palin and Terry Jones have said that it doesn't hold up to Python's style. Graham Chapman refused to comment, claiming to have died in 1989.
According to a ''New York Times'' article on the show published in 2005, ''Spamalot'' has somewhat contributed to the diversity of American musical theatre by bringing back the straight white male to audiences. It is not uncommon to see reunions of men's college fraternities and other groups that enjoyed watching Monty Python fare in college attending ''Spamalot'' on Broadway.
The West End version has opened to two rave reviews so far. "It’s a wonderful night, and I fart in the general direction of anyone who says otherwise" said Charles Spencer in The Daily Telegraph,^[10] "it leaves you that high and weak with laughter, thanks not just to the Python provenance of the basic material but to the phenomenal speed, wit, cheek and showbiz knowingness of the direction, which is by the great veteran, Mike Nichols" said Paul Taylor in The Independent [1]. Michael Billington in The Guardian was less enthusiastic though, stating "while I'm happy to see musicals spoofed, the show's New York origins are clearly exposed in a would-be outre number which announces "we won't succeed in show business if we don't have any Jews": a Broadway in-joke that has little purchase this side of the Atlantic. ....With hand on heart, I'd much rather watch Lerner and Loewe's Camelot than Eric Idle's smart-arsed Spamalot."^[11]

Coconut orchestra record

On March 22, 2006, to mark the first anniversary of the official Broadway opening of the show, the "World's Largest Coconut Orchestra" (consisting of 1,789 people clapping together half coconut shells) performed in Shubert Alley, outside the theatre. The claim was officially recognised by the ''Guinness Book of World Records''. This record was then broken by 5,567 people in Trafalgar Square at 7pm on 23 April 2007, led by the cast from the London production, along with Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, with the coconuts used in place of the whistles in "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". This formed part of London's St George's Day celebrations that year and was followed by a screening of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".^[12]

Other

In 2006, the London cast of Spamalot performed extracts at the Royal Variety Performance.
On March 10th 2007, Monty Python's Spamalot linked up with HP Sauce (the classic brown sauce) to produce 1,075 limited edition bottles, featuring a unique Spamalot take on the classic HP design. The bottles were available exclusively via Selfridges, London and came in a presentation box with a numbered certificate. 1,075 was chosen to celebrate "1,075 years of the show running in London".

DVD

Portions of the ''Spamalot'' Original Cast Recording were featured (with accompanying Flash animation) as an extra in the 2006 DVD rerelease of ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' (the "Extraordinarily Deluxe Two-Disc Edition").
Eric Idle is currently adapting the show for the cinema. He said in an interview that it would have to undergo a lot of changes. The stage version of the show contains scenes that would lack the same effect, or simply be impossible on film. For example, the song "Run Away" is also used to announce the intermission, which is not used in film. Also, the entire second half of the show contains numerous references to the fact it is a musical, such as "Diva's Lament," "You Won't Succeed On Broadway," and others. In fact, the last few scenes involve extensive fourth wall breakage which wouldn't work on film.

Awards

A sign at the Shubert Theatre advertising the show's Best Musical award.

The original Broadway production received fourteen Tony Award nominations, more than any other show in the 2004–2005 season. It won three of them:

★ Best Musical

★ Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Sara Ramirez)

★ Best Direction of a Musical (Mike Nichols)
The production's eleven other nominations were:

★ Best Book of a Musical (Eric Idle)

★ Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre (John Du Prez and Eric Idle (Music); Eric Idle (Lyrics))

★ Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Hank Azaria)

★ Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Tim Curry)

★ Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Michael McGrath)

★ Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (Christopher Sieber)

★ Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Tim Hatley)

★ Best Costume Design of a Musical (Tim Hatley)

★ Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Hugh Vanstone)

★ Best Choreography (Casey Nicholaw, in his Broadway debut as choreographer)

★ Best Orchestrations (Larry Hochman)
The show's Tony Awards led to a minor change to the song "The Diva's Lament." Initially, the line "I've no Grammy, no reward/I've no Tony Award" became "My Tony Award/won't keep me out of Betty Ford's." When Kennedy took over for Ramirez, it became "'All our' Tony Awards/won't keep me out of Betty Ford's." In the touring production, Glenn sings "All our ''goddamn'' awards/won't keep me out of Betty Ford's." For a change, Hannah Waddingham in the London production sings "I'm as depressed as I can be/ I've got constant PMT"
The touring production has thus far garnered Boston's Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Visiting Production.

References

★ Official site

★

★ A Quest Beyond The Grail, a review of ''Spamalot'' from the ''New York Times'' (registration required)

★ Photos, Videos, Cast Interviews and Information on the West End Production on ''Theatre.com''

★ MSNBC/Newsweek interview with Idle and Nichols explaining elimination of some pre-Broadway scenes

★ Tim Curry interview from May 2005 from American Theatre Wing Downstage Center, recorded in MP3 format

★ Daily Telegraph review of West End version

1. "The agreement calls for “Spamalot” to play at Wynn Las Vegas for 10 years if the hotel-casino picks up a three-year renewal option." Wynn Woos 'Spamalot' West
2. 'Spamalot' brings Python double talk to the Strip
3. 'Spamalot' betting on shelf life
4. Wynn Woos 'Spamalot' West
5. http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,21245423-5005361,00.html
6. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21917714-5006016,00.html
7. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21781432-5006023,00.html
8. http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/June06/morespam246601.php
9. http://www.slate.com/id/2121214/
10. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/10/17/btspam17.xml
11. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1924220,00.html
12. BBC News