The Stage

Spamalot shows swap leading ladies

Published Wednesday 10 October 2007 at 13:55 by Judd Hollander

Hannah Waddingham, currently starring as The Lady of the Lake in Monty Python’s Spamalot at the Palace Theatre, will make her Broadway debut when she swaps jobs with Marin Mazzie, her Broadway counterpart in the role.

Pursuant to an agreement between American and UK Equity, a deal was struck which will allow the two actresses to switch productions and countries on January 13, 2008.

Spamalot will be Mazzie’s first London appearance since her West End debut in Michael Blakemore’s production of Kiss Me Kate at the Victoria Palace Theatre in 1999, for which she received an Olivier nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Mazzie was also nominated for a Tony Award when she played the role on Broadway. Her other Broadway credits include Ragtime, Passion, Man of La Mancha, Into the Woods, Big River and Kismet.

Waddingham’s West End credits include Lautrec, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Likes of Us, Grease, and Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton’s The Beautiful Game. Directed by Mike Nichols, with book and lyrics by Eric Idle, Spamalot opened on Broadway on March 17, 2005. The show went on to win the Tony for Best Musical that year, along with one for Nichols’ direction. The West End production of the show will celebrate its first anniversary on October 17. An Australian production of Spamalot is scheduled to open in Melbourne in November.