'Messiah' in Idle hands
   'Spamalot' creator announces next project
   By RICHARD OUZOUNIAN / Daily Variety, 2/14/07
   
   And now for something not so completely different.
   
   Following on the heels of "Monty Python's Spamalot," Eric Idle
   has announced his next project will be "Not the Messiah (He's
   a Very Naughty Boy)," a comic oratorio set to have its world
   premiere in Toronto in June as part of the city's inaugural
   Luminato Festival of the Arts.
   
   Just as Tony-winning tuner "Spamalot" was based on the 1975 film
   "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," Idle's new work is loosely
   adapted from the iconic British troupe's 1979 pic "Life of Brian."
   "Spamalot" co-composer John Du Prez again will collaborate with
   Idle.
   
   The piece has been commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra,
   whose music director, Peter Oundjian, is also Idle's cousin --
   although the comedian insists that had nothing to do with his
   decision. "Who would want to work with their relatives, anyway?"
   Idle said. "They're usually unpleasant, dishonest and slow to
   pick up the check."
   
   The 63-year-old comic did allow that Oundjian may be an exception
   to the rule because "he's got a bit of class, which is something
   my family has always desperately needed." Idle was unwilling to
   disclose details about the work other than to say, "I promise
   it will be funnier than Handel, although probably not as good."
   One question, though, is whether it will include "Brian's"
   best-known tune: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," already
   part of "Spamalot."
   
   Luminato is a new 90-event multidisciplinary arts fest scheduled
   to run throughout Toronto June 1-10. CEO is Janice Price, who
   ankled her job at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia to take over
   the fledging Canadian event.  Other high-profile names whose
   participation was announced Tuesday include Philip Glass, Leonard
   Cohen, Atom Egoyan and Isabel Bayrakdarian.
   
   Organizers anticipate half a million people will attend the
   largely free events of this C$15 million ($13 million) festival,
   conceived to boost Toronto tourism. "Spamalot" opened in March
   2005 on Broadway, where it recently crossed the $100 million
   mark in grosses. The show has since spawned a national tour and
   a production in London's West End. A sit-down run in Las Vegas
   will start previews March 8 for a March 31 opening.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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