Orange County hosts final tour stop of MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT, 10/06-10/18

COSTA MESA, CA — The Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT™ will open the Orange County Performing Arts Center's blockbuster 2009-2010 Broadway Series with a two-week engagement October 6 – 18. The Center run is the last chance for audiences to see MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT before the national tour closes. MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT continues to taunt cities across the nation. "A high energy blast, you’ll leave the theater whistling!" said Terry Byrne from The Boston Herald. CTV's Chris Perez said "Hilarious show…it pushes comedy to its limits. This show is a crowd pleaser!" "You could put a happy-meter in the theater and watch it go off the charts!" exclaims Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star.

Lovingly "ripped-off" from the internationally famous comedy team's most popular motion picture, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT is the winner of three 2005 Tony® Awards including Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress (Sara Ramirez, now on ABC's Grey's Anatomy) and Best Director (Mike Nichols), as well as the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for Best Musical. In addition, the original cast recording of MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and their quest for the Holy Grail, MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT features a chorus line of dancing divas and knights, flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits and one legless knight. John O' Hurley, best known for his recurring role as J. Peterman in the hit sitcom Seinfeld, as well as his recent appearances on Dancing with the Stars and the current host of Family Feud, will play King Arthur in the tour's final two weeks. He played the role during the show's extended run in Los Angeles.

Directed by Mike Nichols, MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT features a book by Eric Idle, based on the screenplay of Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Monty Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, with music and lyrics by the Grammy Award-winning team of Idle and John Du Prez. Casey Nicholaw is the choreographer.

MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT is produced by Boyett Ostar Productions. Set and costume design for MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT is by Tony Award-winner Tim Hatley, lighting design is by Hugh Vanstone and sound design is by Acme Sound Partners. Others on the creative and production teams include David BrIan Brown (Hair & Wig Design), Gregory Meeh (Special Effects Design), Elaine McCarthy (Projection Design), Joseph A. Campayno (Make-Up Design), Larry Hochman (Orchestrations), Glen Kelly (Music Arrangements), Todd Ellison (Musical Supervision and Vocal Arrangements), Michael Keller (Musical Coordinator), Peter Lawrence (Associate Director), Tara Rubin (Casting) and Gene O'Donovan (Production Manager).

Monty Python isn't a person, but a group of British actors and writers (and one American) that performed their famous comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus on the BBC from 1969 to 1974, with subsequent international fame and success.

Photo: John O’Hurley as King Arthur and Jeff Dumas as Patsy by Joan Marcus.

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Tickets to MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT at the Orange County Performing Arts Center start at $28.75 and are available online at OCPAC.org, at the Center’s Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling 714.556.2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 15 or more, call the Group Services office at 714.755.0236. The TTY number is 714.556.2746. The 2 p.m. performance on Saturday, October 17 will be sign-language interpreted.

Bank of America is the Title Sponsor of the Center’s 2009-2010 Broadway Series. Cox Communications is the Media Partner of the Broadway Series.

Visit www.ocpac.org for more information. For more information on the national tour, visit: MontyPythonsSpamalot.com