The Only Broadway Show I'll Ever Look Forward To, or My Gawd! I'm a Dork

The Chicago Tribune Magazine gives us: AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...WELL, OK, IT'S NOT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, SINCE ERIC IDLE AND THE MONTY PYTHON CREW ADMIT THEIR NEW MUSICAL 'SPAMALOT' RIPS OFF THEIR "HOLY GRAIL" MOVIE.

A tidbit or two:

The stakes surrounding "Spamalot," which will first see the light of day in Chicago's Shubert Theatre (good luck getting tickets; it's sold out) are much higher.

I just want to point out that I have my tickets for the Jan. 4th show, and I can't wait to see it. (Yes, I know. There may be something seriously wrong with me.)

I'd telephoned Kim "Howard" Johnson in Ottawa, Ill. Johnson is the author of numerous excellent books on the Pythons-he has hung out with them all, on and off, for decades. Thus he is the most qualified Boswell in the Anglo-American ocean of Python obsessives, many of whom can be found on the Internet at all hours, reciting lyrics, reliving classic sketches, wishing they still were in college.

I ask Johnson why Idle seems so completely obsessed by the "Spamalot" project, which seems to me to be risky.

"Eric was sort of the loner in many ways," Johnson says, noting that the other Pythons tended to write in pairs. "He is younger than the other Pythons by a year or two. He was a bit overshadowed by them."

Johnson, a smart fellow with a kind voice, pauses. "I think Eric has always felt like he was the younger brother. That probably explains it."

I'm not sure I see much of a risk here, at least in a financial sense. If the experience of The Lord of The Rings films tells us anything, it is never underestimate the power of dorks at the box office. "Spamalot" may get thrashed by the critics, but it will rake it in on Broadway.

As for Idle, I'm glad at least one of the Python's is still actively engaged with the material. It is easy to understand that John Cleese might never want to see another stuffed parrot, or that Terry Jones doesn't want to go nude in public anymore. On second thought, scratch that last one. If Terry Jones hasn't been naked in public recently, I'm sure it's not because because he doesn't want to, it's just that no one has asked him.

So what will "Spamalot" look like? The plot has been a closely guarded secret, but some things are leaking out. Although Idle will not be appearing in the show, Cleese will be playing the voice of God. On tape.

"I think we have some very nice moments," Idle says. "Singing cows. Things like that."

Things like that indeed.