Things to Know about Monty Python’s Spamalot Before the Show…

March 5, 2019
  • The musical Monty Python’s Spamalot is based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table first embarked on a search for The Holy Grail in the very, very low-budget 1975 movie. In 2004, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was named by film fans as the best British picture of all time by the United Kingdom arm of Amazon and the Internet Movie Database.
  • Spamalot has a distinctive approach to humor that enhances the experience to unique levels.

“Taste is the enemy of art altogether. I’ve thought about this a lot. People with good taste are constantly worrying about what other people will think. Don’t put that couch over there! It’s the wrong thing to be thinking about because it squashes expression. Of life and vitality of all kinds, and sex – all the funny things!” 

Spamalot director, Mike Nichols, New York Magazine

“Comedy is about reminding us of the truth of being human: we all have a body and we all must die, and it is okay.”  

Eric Idle, BBC News Online

  • Carol Cleveland, the ‘Seventh Python’ and the actress in most Python programs/movies/stage shows writes “…the Pythons didn’t write good parts for women because they were public schoolboys not used to dealing with ladies.” However, the show receives astounding reviews from men and women alike.

“Spamalot has so much fun stuff happening, it’s tough to take it all in at once.  It’s absurdly silly and fabulously funny.  It’s done with such fun and good humor.  You can bring granny to Spamalot, and she’ll have a ball even if she doesn’t know a thing about Monty Python.”

Nancye Tuttle, Lowell Sun, March 17, 2006

  • In the Medieval Legend, the Grail is the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper. The origin of the “Legend of The Holy Grail” is believed to belong to the ancient Britons probably of Welsh and Celtic heritage. There are two explanations for the term. One is that the term “grail” itself is believed to originate from the Latin “gradale” meaning a dish used during a meal. This Latin term evolved into the Old French word “grail” meaning a “broad and capacious dish or slaver.”