And now for something completely different … Monty Python’s Spamalot, with some of its tag lines, like this one, still intact, based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is the reigning delight of Broadway.  A razzle-dazzle musical applying the formula that revolutionized comedy, a combination of the erudite and the absurd,  here applied to a  sacred legend, it is adapted by Eric Idle (the blond one in the original Oxford quintet) with an assist from  John Du Prez on the music.  It will be recalled with affection that with its unique approach to comedy, Monty Python’s Flying Circus spoofed not only the King Arthur legend, but turned upside down ordinary, conventional behavior, like the customer complaint department in the “dead parrot” classic, or seekers of therapy consulting a psychiatric “dairy” (the receptionist is a milkmaid) instead of “diary,” or a determined winner at Wimbledon, who happens to be a frothy blanc mange.

Here, retained from the 1975 film, is the killer rabbit, in lieu of the mythic dreaded dragon, who wreaks such damage in “The Faerie Queene” or “Gawain and the Green Knight.”  The invulnerable opponent of the tales of chivalry is now the Black Knight, who loses all his limbs, but goes on fighting.  The French Taunter, familiar from all the encounters in which the English handily overcome their traditional Gallic enemy, is here, too, as taunting (and as flatulent) as ever.

As a search for the holy grail is not the stuff musicals are made of, here the quest is for the enchanted land of Broadway musicals, which emerge as topsy-turvy spoofs, of which the best is the parody of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s  style, with a floating boat, a descending chandelier, and excessive repetition  in “The Song That Goes Like This.” Another ditty reminds would-be musical-makers that without sufficient ethnic participation “You Won’t Succeed on Broadway.”

Director Mike Nichols brings style and perfect casting to this work.  Who else but the Tim Curry, forever famous as the “transvestite from Transylvania,” should play King Arthur, who with his entourage embarks on the quest at a gallop, cocoanut shells providing the sound of hooves of non-existent horses.  The Lady of the Lake, that mysterious, mist-clad female who serves up Excalibur the magic sword, now becomes a loud-voiced, sexy diva (Sara Ramirez) accompanied by her cheerleading Laker Girls in a floorshow that would turn Las Vegas green with envy.  David Hyde Pierce is Sir Robin,  Hank Azaria is the Knight of Ni (on stilts), and Chris Sieber tosses his blond locks as Sir Lancelot to remind us that “his strength is as the strength of ten because his heart is pure.”   The take-off sets and costumes by Tim Hatley are perfect (and reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s cartoons) down to the slightly askew blazon on the front of each Knight’s tunic, like the chicken for Sir Robin and the lopsided sun for King Arthur.

Winning multiple awards, “Spamalot” is a delight for audiences of all ages – those who recall the antics of Monty Python’s Flying Circus,” still running on television, and those who are witnessing for the first time Monty Python’s unique visual and vocal comedy.