King Arthur. The Knights of the Round Table. A Holy Grail. They’re not the usual ingredients for a side-splitting evening of musical theatre, but toss a killer rabbit, flying cows, flatulent Frenchmen and buxom chorus girls into the mix and you’ve got a Tony Award-winning Best Musical on your hands. Eric Idle was able to cook up the comedic concoction known as Monty Python’s SPAMALOT by simply stumbling onto his past.
“I’ve been working with John Du Prez (composer) for 30 years now and we were looking for a good idea for a musical,” says Idle. “We had written lots and lots of songs and it suddenly occurred to me that it was beneath my feet all the time.”
As one of six members of the seminal British sketch comedy group Monty Python, Idle had a wealth of hilarious, zany and occasionally bawdy material to draw from. The group’s heyday was some three decades ago when their television program Monty Python’s Flying Circus ran for four seasons on the BBC and their international popularity was further bolstered by a few films including the cult favorites “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” in 1975 and “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” in 1979. Idle effectively revisited these earlier creations and borrowed some of the most popular bits for the stage. The show has never been shy about the source material – even the advertising materials boldly state “A new musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture.”
On writing the book and lyrics for the stage production, Idle says “The Holy Grail,” in particular, “was very susceptible because it’s mock-heroic which is very good for comedy.” He adds “Even though it doesn’t have much of a plot it keeps coming to points where you feel it must lead up to a song, like ‘I’m not dead yet.’ There were lots of those moments.”
Legions of diehard Monty Python fans would, no doubt, eagerly await the opportunity to experience the group’s unique blend of comedy on stage. However, the real challenge for Idle was to make SPAMALOT appealing to a much broader theatergoing audience, not just those who were well-versed in all things Python. When the show began its pre-Broadway run in January 2005 in Chicago, Idle got his first real opportunity to test the waters. He liked what he saw.
“It was very important to me to get the audience who didn’t know Python to enjoy the show,” notes Idle. “I knew the Python fans would come, however, I very much wanted to make a show that if you had never heard of Monty Python, or never watched it, or even hated it, you could come and enjoy it.” His concerns were cast aside when, during the Chicago engagement, he ran into “two little elderly ladies that said ‘I hated Monty Python but I love this show.’ I said 'Yes, that’s it, mission accomplished.” During the first preview performance, Idle watched as the humorous on-stage antics were greeted with “gales of laughter.” Mission accomplished, indeed.
Following the very successful Chicago engagement, SPAMALOT opened at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway to stellar reviews and sold-out performances. Needless to say, Idle was elated that his show had taken off in such a big way. So at what point did he realize he had a hit on his hands?
“I guess it was the Tonys,” Idle offers. “I thought ‘Oh, my gosh, they’re actually going to honor this show.’ To win best musical of the year is, I think, an astounding achievement for something that had low aspirations.”
While SPAMALOT continues to enjoy a healthy Broadway run, additional productions have cropped up around the globe. The show opened at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End last year, a slightly-trimmed 90-minute intermission-less version is currently playing the Wynn Las Vegas, a National Tour is making the North American rounds and the latest foray will be in Melbourne, Australia at the end of this year.
Despite the vast popularity of SPAMALOT, don’t hold your breath for any sort of Monty Python reunion. Idle points out that “It’s been 25 years since we worked together on anything.” However, he remains in contact with the other surviving members. John Cleese and Terry Gilliam attended the Vegas opening, “three or four of them came to the London opening” and everybody came to the New York opening in March 2005 - including the one deceased member, Graham Chapman, who attended the occasion in the confines of an urn. Seriously.
“It’s like a bunch of brothers,” reflects Idle. “You occasionally see each other. Occasionally together and occasionally in groups. Of course we have this sort of lovely business that we inherited from our younger and cleverer selves.”
For more information on Monty Python’s SPAMALOT, visit www.MontyPythonsSpamalot.com.
By: Kirk Wingerson
