Legal challenge to Python musical

Eric Idle has been threatened with legal action over plans to stage a Broadway musical based on Monty Python And The Holy Grail.

The comic has been contacted by lawyers acting for a planned new stage version of Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner's classic Camelot, asking him to change the name of his project from Spamalot.

They say they are 'disappointed' that Idle chose that title, which they say will confuse theatre-goers.

A letter to his production company, quoted on the website imdb.com, says: "It is anticipated that there will be a Broadway production of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot opening in the same season as the anticipated Spamalot, and the presence of these two shows together, we believe, can lead only to confusion in the minds of the public.

"Since Lerner and Loewe's Camelot has been in existence since 1961, we suggest that you consider changing the title of your musical."

Idle, who plans to launch his show in 2005, hit back: "Surely only an idiot could confuse Camelot and Spamalot. But idiots are how lawyers make their money."

Published: 12 Nov 2003