'Spamalot' Will Swap Broadway & West End Ladies of the Lake

On January 13, 2008, theatrical history will be made when multi-Tony Award-nominated leading lady Marin Mazzie, currently starring on Broadway as The Lady of the Lake, joins the London cast at the Palace Theatre, trading roles with her West End counterpart, Hannah Waddingham, who will make her debut on the Great White Way in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Monty Python's Spamalot.

Marin returns to London for the first time since her acclaimed West End debut in Michael Blakemore's 2001 production of Kiss Me Kate at the Victoria Palace Theatre for which she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Her extensive Broadway credits include Kiss Me Kate, Ragtime, Passion, Man of La Mancha, Into the Woods, Big River, Kismet, Out of This World, The Vagina Monologues and The Trojan Women.

Hannah Waddingham will take over the role of the Lady of the Lake at the Shubert Theatre from January 17, 2008.

Directed by Mike Nichols, Monty Python's Spamalot is "lovingly ripped-off" from the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.  Telling the legendary tale of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and their quest for the Holy Grail, Monty Python's Spamalot features a chorus line of dancing divas (and serfs), flatulent Frenchmen, killer rabbits and a legless knight.

Award-winning TV stars Peter Davison (King Arthur) and Bill Ward (Sir Lancelot) currently lead the London cast alongside the Olivier Award nominated Hannah Waddingham as The Lady of the Lake, Robert Hands as Sir Robin, Steven Kynman as Herbert, Graham MacDuff as Sir Dennis Galahad, Andrew Spillett as Patsy and Tony Timberlake as Sir Bedevere.

Book and lyrics are by Eric Idle with a Grammy Award-winning score by Eric Idle and John Du Prez.  Other members of the Monty Python's Spamalot creative team include Casey Nicholaw (choreography), multiple Olivier Award-winners Tim Hatley (sets and costumes) and Hugh Vanstone (lighting) and Acme Sound Partners.  Monty Python's Spamalot continues to play at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway having won more Best Musical awards than any other show in 2005.  A new production opened at the Las Vegas Wynn earlier this year and 20 November will see the premiere of the Australian production in Melbourne.

Monty Python's Spamalot performs at the Palace Theatre, Cambridge Circus, London W1.  Booking until March 1, 2008.  Show times are Mondays, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday at 8PM; Fridays at 5:15PM & 8:30PM, Saturday matinee at 3PM. 

Tickets range from £15 - £60, available at the box office 0870 8900142 or online at www.montypythonsspamalot.com.  Kids between the ages of 5 -15 pay the price of their age for a top price ticket when an accompanying adult pays full price (1 adult can accompany up to 2 children). Young people aged 16 – 26 are able to buy best available for just £20.

Photos: Spamalot's Marin Mazzie (Broadway) and Hannah Waddingham (West End), to swap role of "The Lady of the Lake"