Simon Russell Beale to join Broadway’s Spamalot

Published Wednesday 21 September 2005 at 13:35 by Judd Hollander

Simon Russell Beale, currently appearing at the Donmar Warehouse in Christopher Hampton’s The Philanthropist, will soon be jetting off to New York to assume the role of King Arthur in the 2005 Tony-winning musical, Monty Python’s Spamalot.

Beale will be taking over the part from Tim Curry, who originated the role on Broadway, and will make his first appearance on December 20. He is scheduled to begin rehearsals for the show in November.

Winner of Olivier, Evening Standard and London Critic’s Circle awards, among many other theatrical accolades, Russell Beale is an associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National and Almeida theatres and received the CBE in 2003.

Billed as “lovingly ripped off from the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail” Spamalot has a book by Eric Idle and music and lyrics by John Du Prez and Idle, with direction by Mike Nichols. The story details the exploits of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table as they search for the Holy Grail. On their quest they encounter a chorus line of dancing divas, a killer rabbit, a legless knight and some flatulent Frenchmen, among other things.

Spamalot opened on Broadway on March 17, 2005.