Michael Siberry Joins 'Spamalot' as New King Arthur 9/16

Monty Python's SPAMALOT will welcome a new king when Michael Siberry arrives at the Shubert Theatre (225 West 44th Street) on Tuesday September 16.  Siberry comes to the Broadway company after originating the role of King Arthur in the national tour and performing it for two years.

SPAMALOT's Tony Award winning director Mike Nichols said, "Michael Siberry has burned up the road as a brilliant King Arthur for a long time. So good was he in major cities all over the country that it became our hope that he could bring his funny, charming and, in the end, powerful Arthur to Broadway. That will now happen and we, the creators of the show, are very happy."

Australian native Michael Siberry is an alumnus of England's Royal Shakespeare Company and made his Broadway debut in the RSC's revival of Nicholas Nickleby.  He returned to Broadway as Gratiano in the Dustin Hoffman and Sir Peter Hall production of The Merchant of Venice.

Siberry will join a cast that features Tom Deckman, Rick Holmes, Bradley Dean, Robert Petkoff, Wally Dunn, Merle Dandridge, and Clay Aiken, who will return to the show on September 19th .

SPAMALOT won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical, the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical, and the 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Musical. The musical was honored this year with three 2008 Broadway.com Audience Awards including Favorite Long Running Musical.

SPAMALOT features a book and lyrics by Eric Idle, music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, direction by Mike Nichols, choreography by Casey Nicholaw and is based on the screenplay of Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Monty Python creators Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, with an entirely new score with two songs from the 1975 film and the Python classic "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" from 1979's The Life of Brian.

In addition, to the Tony Award for Best Musical, SPAMALOT received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Mike Nichols) and Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Sara Ramirez).

Michael Siberry (King Arthur)   After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art  in Sydney, Australia  Michael began his career in Adelaide, South Australia at the State Theatre Company. After working there for two years Michael moved to England where he joined The Royal Shakespeare Company. Over the years he has performed in many productions with the company including such roles as Petruchio in the Taming of the Shrew, Parolles in Alls Well That Ends Well and Jaques in As You Like It and most notably Nicholas in the revival of the RSC's celebrated production of Nicholas Nickleby. This production also toured to Los Angeles and  New York. It was his first experience of working in America and his first role on Broadway. His next role in New York was Gratiano in the Dustin Hoffman and Sir Peter Hall production of The Merchant of Venice.

His  roles in London have include Charles Surface in the School for Scandal, the Actor in The Woman in Black, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Oberon in A Midsummer Nights Dream; Giles in House and Garden (National Theatre of Great Britain) and most recently  Osbourne in Journeys End  and Elyot in Private Lives at the Theatre Royal Bath.

Other performances in the US have included Baron Von Trapp  in the Broadway revival of The Sound of Music; Francesco in The White Devil (Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney and NY); Morrell in Candida and Astrov in Uncle Vanya (McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N J) Shakespeare in The Frogs (Lincoln Centre); Touchstone in As You Like It  (London and US Tour). Television includes Rosemary and Thyme; Victoria and Albert; The Grand ; Silent Witness; Highlander; Under the Hammer; Sherlock Holmes;  Jeeves and Wooster. He is a member of Actors Equity and has been since he first arrived in New York to perform in Nicholas Nickleby in 1985.

 www.MontyPythonsSpamalot.com

Photo Credit Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.