The Spamalot Diaries
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Narrated by:
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Eric Idle
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Alan Tudyk
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By:
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Eric Idle
About this listen
The inside story of what it took to bring Monty Python and the Holy Grail to Broadway as the unlikely theatrical hit Spamalot, told through actual diary entries from the legendary comic performer, founding member of Monty Python, and New York Times bestselling author
On March 17, 2005, Spamalot debuted on Broadway to rapturous reviews for its star-studded creative team, including creators Eric Idle and John Du Prez, director Mike Nichols, and stars Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez, Tim Curry, and more. But long before the show was the toast of Broadway and the winner of three Tony Awards, it was an idea threatening to fizzle before it could find its way into existence.
Now, in The Spamalot Diaries, Eric Idle shares original journal entries and raw email exchanges—all featuring his whip-smart wit—revealing the sometimes bumpy, always entertaining, path to the show’s unforgettable run. In the months leading up to that opening night, financial anxieties were high, with a low-ceiling budget and expectations that it would take two years to break even. Collaborative disputes put decades-long friendships to the test. And the endless process of rewriting was a task as passionate as it was painstaking. Still, there’s nothing Idle would change about that year. Except for the broken ankle. He could do without the broken ankle.
Chronicling every minor mishap and triumph along the way, as well as the creative tension that drove the show to new heights, The Spamalot Diaries is an unforgettable look behind the curtain of a beloved musical and inside the wickedly entertaining mind of one of our most treasured comic performers.
©2024 Eric Idle (P)2024 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Idle provides a rollicking account of the making of his Broadway musical Spamalot. . . . [and] an irresistible and unfiltered ode to the art of live theater. Fans will love this tantalizing glimpse behind the curtain.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Quite simply wonderful . . . This is so much more than a making-of book; it’s also a portrait of Eric Idle in the kind of detail that a more traditional memoir of Spamalot’s creation might not have provided.”—Booklist
“Spirited and exceedingly witty . . . Idle’s observations are sharp and clever, and his descriptions of his time in New York City are evocative. It’s exciting and very entertaining reading. . . . The backstage story of one of the most successful musicals will appeal to theater buffs and fans of Monty Python.”—Library Journal
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- A Sortabiography
- By: Eric Idle
- Narrated by: Eric Idle
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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We know him best for his unforgettable roles on Monty Python - from the Flying Circus to The Meaning of Life. Now, Eric Idle reflects on the meaning of his own life in this entertaining memoir that takes us on an unforgettable journey from his childhood in an austere boarding school through his successful career in comedy, television, theater, and film.
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I'm Famous...and You're Not...
- By Constant Reader on 10-15-18
By: Eric Idle
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Monty Python's Flying Circus
- By: John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle
- Length: 53 mins
- Original Recording
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Perhaps the ultimate in TV comedy madness and absurdity, this cult series, which began in 1969, inspired many of today's writers and performers. This audio programme features many of the legendary sketches, songs, and catchphrases, including "The Dead Parrot", "The Ministry of Silly Walks", "The Lumberjack Song", "And Now for Something Completely Different", and many more.
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Classic Monty Python
- By Andrew Moore on 06-22-08
By: John Cleese, and others
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Diaries 1969-1979
- The Python Years
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
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Michael Palin's diaries begin in the late 1960s when he began writing for hugely popular programs. He recounts how Monty Python emerged and triumphed. From the success and cult status brought by Monty Python, Palin shares stories from their world tours, their stay at hotels recently trashed by Led Zeppelin, their battles over censorship, and how individually the Pythons went their separate ways. Yet at the same time they were working on the now celebrated series of films, including The Holy Grail....
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The Diary of a Sometime Python
- By tru britty on 03-28-15
By: Michael Palin
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There and Back
- Diaries 1999-2009
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 27 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Over the next ten years, we watch through Michael's eyes as the world reels from the successive shocks of September 11, the 7/7 bombings and the global financial crash. With the warmth and gentle empathy that have endeared millions of fans to him over the decades, Michael documents the day-to-day detail of living in a world buffeted by such powerful winds of change.
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I never knew he lived so close to me .
- By Jamesh75 on 10-29-24
By: Michael Palin
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So, Anyway...
- By: John Cleese
- Narrated by: John Cleese
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The legendary writer and performer of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame takes listeners on a grand tour of his ascent in the entertainment world John Cleese’s huge comedic influence has stretched across generations; his sharp irreverent eye and the unique brand of physical comedy he perfected now seem written into comedy’s DNA. In this rollicking memoir, Cleese recalls his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town, his early comedic days at Cambridge University (with future Python partner Graham Chapman), and the founding of the landmark comedy troupe.
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Too many people reviewing the man, not the book.
- By Barry on 03-14-17
By: John Cleese
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The Quite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat
- By: Eric Idle
- Narrated by: Eric Idle
- Length: 1 hr and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Join the Owl and the Pussycat on their long journey to save the walking, talking Bong Tree in this clever story filled with love and laughter, silly songs, fabulous felines, vile villains, precocious pie-rats, and lots more to tickle one's fancy. Enhanced by an original musical score that contains 10 hysterical songs.
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A charming tale with funny songs; a total delight.
- By Emily on 12-30-14
By: Eric Idle
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Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
- A Sortabiography
- By: Eric Idle
- Narrated by: Eric Idle
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
We know him best for his unforgettable roles on Monty Python - from the Flying Circus to The Meaning of Life. Now, Eric Idle reflects on the meaning of his own life in this entertaining memoir that takes us on an unforgettable journey from his childhood in an austere boarding school through his successful career in comedy, television, theater, and film.
-
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I'm Famous...and You're Not...
- By Constant Reader on 10-15-18
By: Eric Idle
-
Monty Python's Flying Circus
- By: John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle
- Length: 53 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perhaps the ultimate in TV comedy madness and absurdity, this cult series, which began in 1969, inspired many of today's writers and performers. This audio programme features many of the legendary sketches, songs, and catchphrases, including "The Dead Parrot", "The Ministry of Silly Walks", "The Lumberjack Song", "And Now for Something Completely Different", and many more.
-
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Classic Monty Python
- By Andrew Moore on 06-22-08
By: John Cleese, and others
-
Diaries 1969-1979
- The Python Years
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Palin's diaries begin in the late 1960s when he began writing for hugely popular programs. He recounts how Monty Python emerged and triumphed. From the success and cult status brought by Monty Python, Palin shares stories from their world tours, their stay at hotels recently trashed by Led Zeppelin, their battles over censorship, and how individually the Pythons went their separate ways. Yet at the same time they were working on the now celebrated series of films, including The Holy Grail....
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The Diary of a Sometime Python
- By tru britty on 03-28-15
By: Michael Palin
-
There and Back
- Diaries 1999-2009
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 27 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Over the next ten years, we watch through Michael's eyes as the world reels from the successive shocks of September 11, the 7/7 bombings and the global financial crash. With the warmth and gentle empathy that have endeared millions of fans to him over the decades, Michael documents the day-to-day detail of living in a world buffeted by such powerful winds of change.
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I never knew he lived so close to me .
- By Jamesh75 on 10-29-24
By: Michael Palin
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So, Anyway...
- By: John Cleese
- Narrated by: John Cleese
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
The legendary writer and performer of Monty Python and Fawlty Towers fame takes listeners on a grand tour of his ascent in the entertainment world John Cleese’s huge comedic influence has stretched across generations; his sharp irreverent eye and the unique brand of physical comedy he perfected now seem written into comedy’s DNA. In this rollicking memoir, Cleese recalls his humble beginnings in a sleepy English town, his early comedic days at Cambridge University (with future Python partner Graham Chapman), and the founding of the landmark comedy troupe.
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Too many people reviewing the man, not the book.
- By Barry on 03-14-17
By: John Cleese
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The Quite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat
- By: Eric Idle
- Narrated by: Eric Idle
- Length: 1 hr and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Join the Owl and the Pussycat on their long journey to save the walking, talking Bong Tree in this clever story filled with love and laughter, silly songs, fabulous felines, vile villains, precocious pie-rats, and lots more to tickle one's fancy. Enhanced by an original musical score that contains 10 hysterical songs.
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A charming tale with funny songs; a total delight.
- By Emily on 12-30-14
By: Eric Idle
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Travelling to Work
- Diaries 1988–1998 (Volume 3)
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Travelling to Work is the third volume of Michael Palin's widely acclaimed diaries. After the Python years and a decade of filming, writing and acting, Palin's career takes an unexpected direction into travel, which will shape his working life for the next 25 years. Yet, as the diaries reveal, he remained ferociously busy on a host of other projects throughout this whirlwind period.
By: Michael Palin
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Blazing Saddles Meets Young Frankenstein
- The 50th Anniversary of the Year of Mel Brooks
- By: Bruce G. Hallenbeck
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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1974 was a busy year for Mel Brooks. Although still recovering after a series of failed projects threatened his career, he pulled off a one-two punch that saw the release of two of the most beloved American comedies ever made: Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. Although both films are well-known, the stories beyond the making of each movie are less so. How did they come to be, and how did the era's culture and politics not only permit them to be made, but help them to become enduring comedy classics?
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The Pressing Stones
- The Healing Journey of a Nazi's Daughter
- By: Andrea van de Loo
- Narrated by: Andrea van de Loo
- Length: 16 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Born during WWII in the Netherlands, Andrea van de Loo experienced a traumatic childhood, with her father’s past as a member of the Nazi SS casting a long shadow over her life. Despite these challenges, she embarked on an inspirational journey toward healing and self-discovery. Her search for self took her across the globe, where she found solace, purpose, and community. Encompassing eighty years of the author’s life, The Pressing Stones guides listeners through a deeply intimate and emotional journey.
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Such determination to heal the soul and make sense of the horrors of war.
- By Cheryl on 11-08-24
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Great-Uncle Harry
- A Tale of War and Empire
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Some years ago a stash of family records was handed down to Michael Palin, among which were photos of an enigmatic young man in army uniform, as well as photos of the same young man as a teenager looking uncomfortable at family gatherings. This, Michael learned, was his Great-Uncle Harry, born in 1884, died in 1916. He had previously had no idea that he had a Great-Uncle Harry, much less that his life was cut short at the age of 32 when he was killed in the Battle of the Somme. The discovery both shocked him and made him want to know much more.
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A love story.
- By Melissa P. Litwin on 06-23-24
By: Michael Palin
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Only in America
- Al Jolson and The Jazz Singer
- By: Richard Bernstein
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson, immigrated from a shtetl in Lithuania to the United States in 1894 after his father secured a job as a rabbi in Washington, D.C. A poor, Yiddish-speaking newcomer navigating a racially segregated and antisemitic America, young Jolson dreamed of becoming a star, and he did. Through Jolson, Bernstein simultaneously breaks open the history and legacy of the cultural sensation The Jazz Singer. Not only was The Jazz Singer the first feature-length film with synchronized music and dialogue, but it was also taboo smashing in its content.
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Thalia Book Club: Eric Idle, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
- By: Eric Idle
- Narrated by: David Hyde Pierce
- Length: 1 hr and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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A founding member of Monty Python and creator of Spamalot discusses his absurdly funny memoir of his remarkable journey from childhood in an austere boarding school, coming of age as a writer and comedian during the '60s and '70s, and his successful career in comedy, television, theater, and film.
By: Eric Idle
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Creativity
- A Short and Cheerful Guide
- By: John Cleese
- Narrated by: John Cleese
- Length: 59 mins
- Unabridged
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You might think that creativity is some mysterious, rare gift - one that only a few possess. But you’d be wrong. As John Cleese shows in this short, practical, and often amusing guide, it’s a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, Cleese shares his insights into the nature of the creative process and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. What do you need to do to get yourself in the right frame of mind? When do you know that you’ve come up with an idea that might be worth pursuing?
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I want to give this book a million stars but they won’t let me.
- By scott on 02-18-22
By: John Cleese
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Defining Moments
- God-Encounters with Ordinary People Who Changed the World
- By: Bill Johnson, Jennifer Miskov
- Narrated by: Andrew Cole
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Defining Moments is a fascinating look at the remarkable ways in which God has used ordinary people to change history. But it is about more than history alone—it illuminates the present and unveils the future. Prophetic in nature, the book reveals how God wants to work in each of our lives to fulfill His purposes—today, tomorrow, and in the years to come. The stories in this collection of God-encounters carry a prophetic anointing for all who have ears to hear.
By: Bill Johnson, and others
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Ghosts of Crook County
- An Oil Fortune, a Phantom Child, and the Fight for Indigenous Land
- By: Russell Cobb
- Narrated by: Chris Baetens
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early 1900s, at the dawn of the “American Century,” few knew the intoxicating power of greed better than white men on the forefront of the black gold rush. When oil was discovered in Oklahoma’s Indian Country, these tycoons impersonated, defrauded, and murdered Native property owners to snatch up hundreds of acres of oil-rich land. Journalist and fourth-generation Oklahoman Russell Cobb sets the stage for one such oilman’s chicanery: Tulsa entrepreneur Charles Page’s campaign for a young Muscogee boy’s land in Creek County.
By: Russell Cobb
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The Unfinished Harauld Hughes
- By: Richard Ayoade
- Narrated by: Chris Morris, David Mitchell, Lydia Fox, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The gifted filmmaker, corduroy activist and amateur dentist, Richard Ayoade, first chanced upon a copy of The Two-Hander Trilogy by Harauld Hughes in a second-hand bookshop. At first startled by his uncanny resemblance to the author's photo, he opened the volume and was electrified. Terse, aggressive, and elliptical, what was true of Ayoade was also true of Hughes's writing, which encompassed stage, screen, and some of the shortest poems ever published.
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Controlled Whimsicality: The Genius of Richard Ayoade
- By Sandalfeet on 12-10-24
By: Richard Ayoade
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Erebus
- One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time
- By: Michael Palin
- Narrated by: Michael Palin
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Michael Palin brings the fascinating story of the Erebus and its occupants to life, from its construction as a bomb vessel in 1826 through the flagship years of James Clark Ross’s Antarctic expedition and finally to Sir John Franklin’s quest for the holy grail of navigation - a route through the Northwest Passage, where the ship disappeared into the depths of the sea for more than 150 years. It was rediscovered under the arctic waters in 2014.
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Engrossing story
- By Anonymous User on 10-01-24
By: Michael Palin
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Abortion
- Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win
- By: Jessica Valenti
- Narrated by: Jessica Valenti
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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In her most urgent book yet, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Valenti shines a light on the conservative assault on women’s freedom, cutting through the misinformation and overwhelm to inform, engage, and enrage. From the attacks Americans know about to the ones anti-abortion lawmakers and groups are trying to hide, Valenti details the tactics and horrors that she’s been painstakingly tracking in her acclaimed newsletter, Abortion, Every Day.
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Incredible
- By Morgan G on 12-20-24
By: Jessica Valenti
What listeners say about The Spamalot Diaries
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Lownote DH
- 10-26-24
Humor
Eric Idle and Alan Tudyk are very funny and this book is outstanding. Well worth the time to enjoy
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- Raquel Luciana da Motta Silva
- 12-15-24
thank you, Eric
i thoroughly enjoyed this reading. i listened primarily during breakfast time so it felt like I was having coffee with Eric, as he spoke of his journey with this production. A sheer delight.
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- librarian
- 10-22-24
Collaboration with all the rough edges
I never saw Spamalot but enjoyed this book. Collaboration has rough edges and he didn’t sand them down.
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- D. Munro
- 12-02-24
Great ride
A good listen with insight into the work of making musical theater told by a funny, brilliant, tireless guy from Monty Python's Flying Circus.
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- ValG
- 10-25-24
I want to see the show again
Interesting behind the scene look at making a Broadway musical
I now want to go see the sshow again
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- David Berry
- 11-22-24
Great fun and very informative
It was a real pleasure to hear Eric Idol himself narrate his book, giving a backstage look about the creation of Spamalot.
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-18-24
Not my cup of tea
The self congratulatory tone became redundant. Particularly annoying were references to “a song that went like this …” followed by silence.
It’s an audio book. You wrote the tunes. Perhaps you could hum a few bars for reference?
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1 person found this helpful
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- Steve
- 11-26-24
Holy Grail or Epic Fail?
I'll start by stating I am a fan of Monty Python. I rarely write critical reviews, but I made an exception here. While Eric Idle’s work has undeniably shaped comedy, The Spamalot Diaries left me conflicted.
Eric Idle seems to me, to present himself of something of a Diva; constantly seeking adulation for his brilliant work. Maybe that's the culture of Broadway productions and shame on Eric for falling into it.
His writing the book smacks a bit of trying to squeeze just a little bit more juice from the Holy Grail franchise. I obtained the title with the 3 for 1 promotion Audible had going on, so technically it was free. I wish Audible could refund the time I put into listening to it.
In wrapping up, the only bright spot is Eric's narration. Even the most horrendous of stories seem funnier when read by a Brit. Unfortunately, it’s not quite enough to save the overall experience.
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