{"id":2342082,"date":"2026-03-23T13:49:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:49:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2342082"},"modified":"2026-03-23T13:49:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:49:47","slug":"eric-idle-talks-monty-python-spamalot-at-the-pantages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/eric-idle-talks-monty-python-spamalot-at-the-pantages\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Idle talks “Monty Python,” “Spamalot” at the Pantages"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The last time Eric Idle\u2019s \u201cMonty Python and the Holy Grail\u201d spoof musical \u201cSpamalot\u201d landed at a major L.A. venue<\/a> a decade ago, he played the show\u2019s tweedy historian, who sets the scene for the Arthurian legend with a seriousness entirely unfit for the absurdist romp to follow. <\/p>\n

It was a perfect role for the \u201cMonty Python\u2019s Flying Circus\u201d alum, to whom dry humor comes as naturally as breathing. <\/p>\n

But when \u201cSpamalot\u201d makes its long-awaited return to L.A. Tuesday at the Hollywood Pantages, Idle will take the stage only briefly, and not as a cast member. His job is to pop on and \u201csay something funny or rude, which sadly, comes quite easy to me,\u201d he said in a recent interview at Written Hand cocktail lounge, located just north of the theater. <\/p>\n

Over a margarita and a few chef\u2019s olives, Idle recounted his earliest forays into comedy, his legendary run and subsequent break with his former \u201cMonty Python\u201d castmates, and why \u201cSpamalot\u201d arrives in L.A. at the perfect time. <\/p>\n

Explaining his scaled-back involvement in this iteration of his meta-musical, Idle said that at the golden age of 82, \u201cI can\u2019t do anything eight times a week\u201d \u2014 though his agenda that day begged to differ. <\/p>\n

He\u2019d woken up around 6 a.m. for his daily writing session, powered through a meeting with his book publisher and capped off the sunlight hours with some \u201cSpamalot\u201d promos and a photoshoot, all before sitting down to dinner. <\/p>\n

Though his admin tasks may tire him, Idle said comedy never does. Recently, he ran into the actor who plays King Arthur in the Pantages production at their hotel bar and asked him for notes on the script. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018There\u2019s one speech.\u2019 I said, \u2018I know exactly which one it is,\u2019\u201d Idle recalled. \u201cEvery time I hear it I go, I must rewrite that.\u201d <\/p>\n

So Idle workshopped it \u2014 did the algebra, as he described it \u2014 and wound up with a new, zingier joke he preferred. Reciting it at the dinner table, Idle snapped his fingers in time with the punchline.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done it 62 years. It still fascinates me,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Idle\u2019s lifelong fixation on comic craft began in his teenage years, when he saw \u201cBeyond the Fringe,\u201d the seminal British comedy stage revue that acted as a precursor to both \u201cMonty Python\u201d and \u201cSaturday Night Live.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know you could laugh at the monarchy, at religion, at the army, at the war,\u201d Idle said, adding that he immediately purchased the sketch group\u2019s record and learned all their bits. <\/p>\n

From that moment, he said, \u201cI wanted desperately to do comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/picture>\n
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\u201cI love musical theater. I miss it,\u201d Eric Idle said. <\/p>\n

(Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

First with the Cambridge Footlights and later with the Pythons, Idle honed a linguistically-focused style that bridged highbrow absurdity and accessible, pop culture-driven humor. Then in the \u201980s, he unlocked an affinity for musical theater while playing Ko-Ko in Jonathan Miller\u2019s \u201cThe Mikado.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years, it became an established tradition that Ko-Ko rewrite his patter song, \u201cI\u2019ve Got a Little List,\u201d to keep the operetta\u2019s satire topical. <\/p>\n

When Idle penned his own rewrite, he recalled thinking, \u201cWoof, I like this.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt made me realize that I could write funny songs quite quickly,\u201d he said. That epiphany in turn led him to meet with John Du Prez, who became the composer for \u201cSpamalot.\u201d <\/p>\n

Idle and DuPrez wrote some 40 songs for the musical, many of them at a small studio in the Valley which they dubbed Killer Rabbit Studios. The idea was to compose a show that even those who weren\u2019t \u201cMonty Python\u201d fans would enjoy, with hints of romance and sincerity absent from the source material. <\/p>\n

Famed stage and screen director Mike Nichols made judicious cuts, Idle said, though occasionally changed his mind. <\/p>\n

In an April 23, 2004, journal entry published in Idle\u2019s 2024 book \u201cThe Spamalot Diaries,\u201d<\/a> the comic writes: \u201cMike also confesses to a dislike for the Knights of Ni, but when we act it out together, i.e. I say \u2018Ni!\u2019 and he pretends to be scared, it gets us both laughing uncontrollably and he is now convinced that it works.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned so much,\u201d Idle said as he reminisced about those early years engineering the musical, which has appeared twice on Broadway and won three Tony awards during its inaugural run, including for best musical and direction. \u201cI think it was the best fun of my life.\u201d <\/p>\n

The current \u201cSpamalot\u201d tour coming to the Pantages on Tuesday through April 12 remains a farce \u201clovingly ripped off\u201d<\/a> from \u201cMonty Python\u201d and featuring all the classic bits \u2014 flying cows, killer rabbits and the Lady of the Lake \u2014 but revamping its stage production with updated scenic and projection design by Paul Tate dePoo III. With Josh Rhodes directing, the new show brings a fresh take on the 2023 Broadway revival. <\/p>\n

Idle said he\u2019s especially excited to host a Saturday matinee attended by students from the Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center, which provides performing arts education to South-Central L.A. youth.<\/p>\n

Each \u201cSpamalot\u201d production at the Pantages has been great, Idle added, but with all the upgrades, this one is \u201csmashing.\u201d <\/p>\n

And it comes to L.A. at a critical time when joy is hard-fought, he said. <\/p>\n

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\"Curtain <\/picture>\n
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The Broadway revival of \u201cSpamalot\u201d opened in 2023 at New York\u2019s St. James Theater. <\/p>\n

(CJ Rivera \/ Invision \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cPeople really love this show because it makes you happy,\u201d Idle said. \u201cAnd these are the times when we need it really badly, because somehow, we\u2019re being oppressed all the time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Despite his English roots, Idle after living in the U.S. for several decades is firmly entrenched in the country\u2019s politics. As he\u2019s watched the Kennedy Center drama<\/a> unfold and arts infrastructure unravel, he said sitting among laughing audiences has been a balm \u2014 for himself and many others. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt always goes well in a Republican war,\u201d Idle observed about his show. \u201cWe opened during Bush and Cheney, when all these people were going off to war, and [\u2018Spamalot\u2019] is about going off to war, really, rounding up the knights.\u201d <\/p>\n

It helps that the play\u2019s script allows its actors to break the fourth wall and improvise dialogue that more closely speaks to the audience\u2019s present moment. <\/p>\n

As Idle talked about his show, he swelled with the same pride he said he has when he looks back on his time with the Monty Python troupe: \u201cit makes me feel so warm towards them.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBut those aren\u2019t the same people we are now,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Preexisting tensions among the Pythons boiled over in recent years because of financial disputes, including a 2013 lawsuit over \u201cSpamalot\u201d royalties. Idle has for more than a decade been largely estranged from his former collaborators, but said he prefers not to linger on that fact. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we were good, I really do,\u201d he said, and that made for a great life. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t make you brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Cast <\/picture>\n
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\u201cMonty Python\u2019s Flying Circus\u201d original cast members John Cleese, from left, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin and Eric Idle pose on a beach.<\/p>\n

(PBS \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Even while Idle was still with the troupe, being its only unpartnered writer made him feel distant from them, he said. It\u2019s what he and Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison bonded over when they met. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was between two powerful people, and I was between two powerful groups,\u201d Idle said. \u201cSo we played not dissimilar roles.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair remained close until Harrison\u2019s death in 2001. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst thing about getting old is you lose all your friends,\u201d Idle said somberly. <\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t ready for Catherine O\u2019Hara<\/a> to go, nor Rob Reiner<\/a>, who bade Idle a poignant farewell at a recent L.A. party. <\/p>\n

The last thing the beloved director said to Idle was, \u201cGoodnight, I\u2019ll see you next year,\u201d he recalled. <\/p>\n

After dinner, Idle slung his Holy Grail-shaped bag \u2014 made by his daughter and lined with Spam-printed fabric \u2014 over his shoulder and left a voicemail for a friend he regularly jams with in L.A. <\/p>\n

\u201cHey, Alex, I\u2019m just finished what I was doing. I\u2019m down by the Pantages. If you fancy a ding dong, give me a call. Otherwise, I\u2019ll just head home.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last time Eric Idle\u2019s \u201cMonty Python and the Holy Grail\u201d spoof musical \u201cSpamalot\u201d landed at a major L.A. venue a decade ago, he played the show\u2019s tweedy historian, who sets the scene for the Arthurian legend with a seriousness entirely unfit for the absurdist romp to follow. It was a perfect role for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2342083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2342082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Eric-Idle-talks-Monty-Python-Spamalot-at-the-Pantages.com2F792Fd72F543e14e54196974a34491134.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2342082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2342084,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342082\/revisions\/2342084"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2342083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2342082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2342082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2342082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}