About the work
Spamalot is a musical by Eric Idle (lyrics and book) and John Du Prez & Eric Idle (music), premiered on Broadway in 2005. "Lovingly ripped off" from the Monty Python film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, it won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Plot
King Arthur travels through England with his loyal squire Patsy, who clacks coconuts instead of riding a real horse, to gather knights for the Round Table. On the absurd quest for the Holy Grail they encounter killer rabbits, insulting Frenchmen, the knight who says nothing but "Ni!," and the "Lady of the Lake," who insists on a big number of her own. In true Monty Python fashion, the work gleefully lampoons the conventions of the Broadway musical itself.
Cultural significance
Spamalot successfully carried Monty Python's anarchic humour to the musical stage and became one of Broadway's greatest comedy successes. The self-mocking number The Song That Goes Like This parodies the overwrought mega-musical ballad, and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life became a sing-along hit. The work is an affectionate homage and at the same time an irreverent parody of the genre.