Not the Messiah! — By Spamalot's Idle and Du Prez — to Play Wolf Trap

By Andrew Gans
April 7, 2008

Spamalot co-creators Eric Idle and John Du Prez have reteamed to create a comic oratorio inspired by both Handel's "Messiah" and Monty Python's "Life of Brian."

Entitled Not the Messiah! (He's a Very Naughty Boy), the new work will play the Filene Center at Wolf Trap July 24 at 8:15 PM. Du Prez will conduct the National Symphony Orchestra for the evening, which will feature performances by Idle and special guests to be announced at a later date.

Not the Messiah!, according to Wolftrap, tells "the tragi-comic story of a man mistaken for the Messiah. This new work for 100 musicians is an attempt to create a new form—the comic oratorio—from the Pythons' most admired movie. Idle—singing baritone-ish—reprises some of his best-loved roles from this legendary movie that reminds you to 'Always Look On the Bright Side of Life.'"

Tickets, priced $20-$55, are available by visiting www.wolftrap.org.

The Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is located at 1551 Trap Road in Vienna, VA.