MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT On Tour!
I'm not sure if I've yet made it clear here how huge a Monty Python fan I am.....
It all began on an (not Anne), an Elk farm outside Cadbury Castle, near the River Cam, in Somerset, England. A land surrounded by plains and forests, and..no, no, No - WAIT...start again.....
....It all started for my in the summer of 1975. I was visiting with my deer Aunt Jerry & her 9 elks, sorry - kids in California for the summer. My cousin Kevin turned me onto the album MONTY PYTHON'S PREVIOUS RECORD (their best!)...I wore the damn thing out, and I haven't been bloody right since!
A few weeks later, Kevin had a special surprise for me:
Ol' KevBud took me to The Plaza Theatre in L.A. for the West Coast World Premiere of THE HOLY GRAIL (simultaneously, a premiere was occurring in Chicago, and NYC). What a blast! Free coconuts, and laughter so strong we missed half the jokes.
Joining us after the show, outside the lobby were Eric Idle & Terry Gilliam! Eric was holding a big bucket of popcorn, handing out single pieces to us folks not lucky enough to get a coconut,
saying "nobody walks away from a Monty Python movie empty 'anded"! Then Eric and Terry hung around, leaning on a limo, and told jokes & signed autographs.
I've often looked around online to see if I could find press clippings from the event. I've had no luck yet - but I did find the above ad for the show in the wonderful 2003 book The Python's by The Pythons.
Fast forward 33 years later, for Christmas '07 my wife surprised me with tickets for the first National Touring Cast of SPAMALOT (the Broadway Musical based on the HOLY GRAIL motion picture).
The play is the brain child of none other than (the troupe's self proclaimed Greedy Bastard) Eric Idle himself. Perfect gift for this lifelong fan!! Thank you baby (my wife..not Eric).
Wow! What a performance. Even my wife (who disliked the film) loved it! Although much of the play follows the (already loose) storyline of the Holy Grail, the writers threw in a fantastic mix of of gags and songs from that film and other Python films; records; and TV, and even some contemporary and local references (such as name dropping Orlando Mayor Buddy Dryer).
The only way Spamalot could have been better, would have been actual Monty Python members in the cast! It is an enchanting (though a bit surreal) evening out, very colorful and The only thing that could have made SPAMALOT terrifically funny. A must see for all...bring the whole family!!
SPAMALOT
MONTY PYTHON
ERIC IDLE
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