Stars Come Out For 'Spamalot'

Whoopi Goldberg, Candice Bergen, Steve Martin and Carly Simon were among the celebrities who turned out on Thursday night for the Broadway debut of "Monty Python's Spamalot," a stage adaptation of the 1975 film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

Buzz about the show has been building for months, and it is already a hit, with tickets to the musical sold out through June.

"Spamalot" also looks to be an artistic success, with glowing reviews greeting the opening.

"It seems safe to say that such a good time is being had by so many people (including the cast) at the Shubert Theater that this fitful, eager celebration of inanity will find a large and lucrative audience among those who value the virtues of shrewd idiocy, artful tackiness and wide-eyed impiety," said the New York Times.

Wrote the Washington Post's theater critic: "With 'hit' practically tattooed on its dizzy derriere, Monty Python's "Spamalot" opened last night at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre in a musical production so eager to please that it would, if it could, order you a cocktail and serve you a home-cooked meal."

The show stars Tim Curry, who played transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," David Hyde Pierce, of television's "Frasier," and Hank Azaria, who stars in the Showtime series "Huff."

Director Mike Nichols says it's a very fine theater company.

Also at the opening was original Python member Eric Idle, who penned the story and lyrics for the musical and co-wrote the music with John Du Prez. Idle said adapting the original to the stage was "challenging enough."

The five living members of the original cast — Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin — briefly posed for photographs and waved to fans. A sixth member, Graham Chapman, died in 1989.