More than 30 years ago, the Monty Python comedy troupe skewered the Camelot myth—and its romantic retellings—with the irreverent Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In the late 1990s, Python genius Eric Idle began working to turn the film into a musical for the stage, writing by himself for a year at his California home before calling friend and composer John Du Prez, who first collaborated with the troupe by scoring 1978’s Life of Brian.

Monty Python’s Spamalot, with book by Idle and music and lyrics by Idle and Du Prez, debuted on Broadway in 2005 and in London last year. The touring show comes to the Phil Feb. 6–11 for eight performances. Reached by phone at a Malibu hotel, Du Prez was once again collaborating with Idle on a piece of musical satire. Not Handel’s Messiah, a symphony based on Life of Brian, will debut this summer in Toronto.

GL: Anything that surprises you about Spamalot’s audiences?

Du Prez: We’re seeing young men, 18 to 28. Normally you’d have to hold a shotgun to their head to get them to the theater.

GL: Were you one of those groupies who could quote Monty Python films and sketches by memory?

Du Prez: No, it was a rare treat to get to see Monty Python and the Flying Circus [which aired on British television 1969–’71]. I was immersed in my finals at Oxford, and [in 1970], I didn’t have a TV. I never saw Holy Grail at
the cinema.

GL: Did that change the way you approached Spamalot?

Du Prez: I think it helped. You can’t be overawed by the material. It wasn’t a Holy Cow to me.

GL: Was there anything about Holy Grail that made it a natural choice for Monty Python’s first stage adaptation?

Du Prez: If you look at Life of Brian or The Meaning of Life, they have beginnings, middles and ends. This one doesn’t, really. That meant there was a lot we could work with.

GL: Beyond the musical’s popular success, it’s been honored with both Tony and Grammy awards?

Du Prez: We’re very, very proud. All we need is the Oscar now, and then we’ll have the set.