The holy grail of hit musicals….

Two British actors who once played Hamlet – for the Royal Court and National Theatre respectively – are currently starring in two Broadway musicals: Jonathan Pryce has recently taken over from John Lithgow in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Simon Russell Beale is now King Arthur (originally taken by Tim Curry) in Spamalot. Pryce is well known for musicals already, having starred in the original production of Miss Saigon (in a performance he later reprised on Broadway) and in revivals of Oliver! and My Fair Lady; but Simon Russell Beale’s musical talents are less celebrated. But he actually made his West End debut in 1985 in a long-forgotten short-lived musical revue Look to the Rainbow that celebrated the songs of Yip Harburg and played for a month at the Apollo, after transferring from the King’s Head.

I didn’t have a chance to go back to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but I wrapped up my quick trip to New York that I’ve been chronicling here by returning to Spamalot yesterday afternoon, before flying home overnight. It has, of course, just been announced to open here in October, when it will go into the Palace Theatre. The multiple layers of goofy humour that was Python’s trademark gets an extra spin with this show as it gently satirises the form of the musical itself. Of course, The Producers has already got there first, and to be honest, has a far superior musical score; but this sustained two hours of silliness (that makes sure it doesn’t outstay its welcome by coming in so short) is propelled by nearly constant laughter. And Simon Russell Beale seizes the reigns of the lead role with a fantastic sense of fun.

The experience was only marred a little by losing a bottle of diet coke on the way into the Shubert Theatre: in the now-routine, but usually cursory, bag examinations that Broadway security guards run, a particularly belligerent member of the species insisted that no outside beverages were permitted. Presumably diet coke is a massive security risk – to the profits of the scamming theatre management, the Shubert Organisation. It’s this kind of contempt for your patrons – that has already seen them fleeced for $1.25 to contribute to the theatre’s refurbishment, and booking fees that add up to $15 per ticket on an already hefty $111.25 – that leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.