London Spamalot Fans Triple Broadway's Coconut Orchestra World Record
By Ernio Hernandez
24 Apr 2007
Not to be outdone by its Broadway counterpart, the West End staging of Monty Python's Spamalot broke the record for the world's largest coconut orchestra April 23 in Trafalgar Square.
The Broadway and Shubert Alley crowd set the record March 22, 2006 as 1,789 fans banged complimentary pairs of coconut halves together to the tune of the familiar Monty Python anthem "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" to celebrate the show's one year anniversary. Londoners — celebrating St. George's Day — toppled the record with 5,567 people, as verified by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Cast members were on hand to provide coconut lessons and lead the "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" sing-along. Also taking part were former Pythons Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones.
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Spamalot tells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table on their quest from God for the Holy Grail — with a short stop in the dazzling Spam-filled land of Camelot.
The musical features a book by Eric Idle based on the screenplay he co-wrote with Monty Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The new score — with music and lyrics by Idle and composer John Du Prez ("A Fish Called Wanda") — includes songs ("Brave Sir Robin" and "Knights of the Round Table") from the original film as well as the Python signature "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."
Spamalot took home prizes at the 2005 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Direction (Nichols) and Best Featured Actress (Sara Ramirez). The original Decca Broadway cast album earned the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.
In addition to the West End production at the Palace Theatre, the show is on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre, on a national U.S. tour and in Las Vegas at the Grail Theatre in the Wynn Las Vegas resort.
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