The Spamalot Diaries

by Eric Idle Narrated by Not Yet Available

Overview

The inside story of what it took to bring Monty Python and the Holy Grail to Broadway as the unlikely theatrical hit Spamalot, told through actual diary entries from the legendary comic performer, founding member of Monty Python, and New York Times bestselling author

On March 17, 2005, Spamalot debuted on Broadway to rapturous reviews for its star-studded creative team, including creators Eric Idle and John Du Prez, director Mike Nichols, and stars Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez, Tim Curry, and more. But long before the show was the toast of Broadway and the winner of three Tony Awards, it was an idea threatening to fizzle before it could find its way into existence.

Now, in The Spamalot Diaries, Eric Idle shares original journal entries and raw email exchanges-all featuring his whip-smart wit-revealing the sometimes bumpy, always entertaining, path to the show's unforgettable run. In the months leading up to that opening night, financial anxieties were high, with a low-ceiling budget and expectations that it would take two years to break even. Collaborative disputes put decades-long friendships to the test. And the endless process of rewriting was a task as passionate as it was painstaking. Still, there's nothing Idle would change about that year. Except for the broken ankle. He could do without the broken ankle.

Chronicling every minor mishap and triumph along the way, as well as the creative tension that drove the show to new heights, The Spamalot Diaries is an unforgettable look behind the curtain of a beloved musical and inside the wickedly entertaining mind of one of our most treasured comic performers.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

★ 07/08/2024

Idle (Always Look on the Bright Side of Life) provides a rollicking account of the making of his Broadway musical Spamalot, based on the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Stitching together journal entries, emails, and discarded song lyrics, Idle covers the creative challenges of adapting a movie with 98 speaking roles into a play, hysterical table reads and endless rewrites, and blowing off steam with museum visits and nights out on the town (during dinner with Steve Martin and Stella McCartney at a West Village restaurant, Jerry Seinfeld, a “big Python fan,” stops by to say hello). Idle depicts the highs and lows of putting on a show with equal fondness, from butting heads with his director over scene changes to the warmth of rehearsals and the thrill of showing the musical to its first paying audiences. While the journal entries vary between bursts of creative insight and mundane accounts of individual rehearsals, the end result is an irresistible and unfiltered ode to the art of live theater. Fans will love this tantalizing glimpse behind the curtain. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

Idle provides a rollicking account of the making of his Broadway musical Spamalot. . . . [and] an irresistible and unfiltered ode to the art of live theater. Fans will love this tantalizing glimpse behind the curtain.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Offers plenty of comedy to delight fans. . . . An amusing behind-the-scenes look at a unique Broadway smash.”—Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192023006
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/08/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged