The Hollywood Bowl’s upcoming production of Monty Python’s Spamalot, the parody of the Arthurian Legend which won the Tony for Best Musical in 2005, will star Merle Dandridge as The Lady of the Lake, Warwick Davis as Patsy, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Sir Robin, Eric Idle as the Historian and Craig Robinson as King Arthur. BT McNicholl will direct. Spamalot will be conducted by Todd Ellison and choreographed by Scott Taylor. Additional casting is to be announced.
Eric Idle, who wrote the book and lyrics and is co-composer of Spamalot – and who is a member of Monty Python – said, “To celebrate ten years since Monty Python’s Spamalot opened on Broadway and won the Tony for Best Musical of the Year I am proud to join a hand-picked cast of seriously funny people for three nights of fun at my favorite venue: The Bollywood Hole.”
Merle Dandridge has appeared on Broadway in a variety of roles including Kala in Tarzan, The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot, Joanne in Rent and the title role in Aida. Her TV roles include NBC’s The Night Shift and FX’s Sons of Anarchy. Last fall, Dandrige starred as Kate in Kiss Me, Kate with Wayne Brady at The Pasadena Playhouse.
Warwick Davis portrayed Professor Filius Flitwick in the Harry Potter film series and starred in the HBO series Life’s Too Short,created by himself, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Davis played the role of Patsy in the West End production ofSpamalot. He will be appearing in the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson is a five-time Emmy nominee, best known playing Mitchell Pritchett on ABC’s Modern Family. His Broadway credits include Leaf Coneybear in the original cast of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Chip in the 1998 revival of On the Town. Ferguson starred in the Hollywood Bowl’s production of The Producers in 2012.
Eric Idle is a member of the groundbreaking comedy troupe Monty Python, whose iconic films include Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. He is an accomplished songwriter and wrote many of Monty Python’s best-known songs, including “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” In addition to writing the book and lyrics for Spamalot, as well as co-writing the music with John Du Prez, Idle has also written novels, a play, and a children’s book. His lyrics for Spamalot won him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics in 2005.
Craig Robinson portrayed the beloved character, Darryl Philbin, on all nine seasons of NBC’s hit show The Office. His film roles include This is the End, Get On Up, Hot Tub Time Machine, and Hot Tub Time Machine 2. His new show, Mr. Robinson, will premiere later this summer on NBC.
Director BT McNicholl was recently named the Producing Artistic Director of the Palace Theatre in Stamford, Connecticut. He has been on the creative teams of a dozen Broadway plays and musicals including Billy Elliott: The Musical, Cabaret and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, with mentor directors Sam Mendes, Rob Marshall, Stephen Daldry, Jerry Zaks, James Lapine, and Mike Nichols. He wrote the book and lyrics for the successful musical The It Girl and is a BMI-Award winning lyricist. Regionally, his production of West Side Story won the 2014 Moss Hart Award. Internationally, he won the Helpmann Award (the Australian “Tony”) for Best Direction and staged the European premiere of The Producers for Stage Entertainment.
Todd Ellison, conductor, is currently the music supervisor/conductor for the new Broadway musical, An American in Paris. His other Broadway credits include Annie, Spamalot, La Cage aux Folles and 42nd Street. He was also the musical director of theRadio City Christmas Spectacular for several seasons and worked as Marvin Hamlisch’s musical director on Ballroom and The Nutty Professor.
Scott Taylor, choreographer, was on the creative teams of several Broadway musicals including Aladdin, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, A Little Night Music and Spamalot. He was also the dance captain for the original Broadway production of Spamalot.
Monty Python’s Spamalot tells the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and their quest for the Holy Grail. The show features lusty maidens, dancing divas, a killer rabbit and a legless knight. It has been honored with dozens of awards, including the Grammy for Best Original Cast Recording and three Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Monty Python’s Spamalot will have three performances at the Hollywood Bowl this summer – Friday, July 31, at 8 PM,Saturday, August 1, at 8 PM and Sunday, August 2, at 7:30 PM.
