Holy Hand Grenade Is Everywhere

Tony Award-winning Broadway play “Monty Python’s Spamalot” is going on tour starting next March, with gigs lined up in Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C., and more shows to be announced.

The musical, based on the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and directed by Mike Nichols, has had probably the splashiest debut on the Great White Way since “The Producers.”

The North American tour begins in Boston March 7th to April 15th at the Colonial Theatre. Chicago gets the play April 18th to June 4th at the Cadillac Palace Theatre and the Washington visit is set for June 7th to July 9th at the National Theatre.

Spamalot will not visit California, Nevada or Arizona because of an agreement made with casino impresario Steve Wynn. His new $2.7 billion megaresort, Wynn Las Vegas, is expected to host a version of the play for 10 years starting in 2007.

The show’s original designer, Tim Hatley is planning to create the 1,600-seat Spamalot Experience and Grail Theatre, which is expected to include a castle-like entranceway.

The musical will join a slew of Broadway plays that have migrated to the strip. The Luxor Hotel & Casino plans to unveil “Hairspray” later this year and the Venetian has “The Phantom of the Opera” showing up next year. ABBA musical “Mamma Mia!” has been at Mandalay Bay since 2003.

“Spamalot” recently won three Tony Awards, including best musical. Its producers include Clear Channel Entertainment, Jam Theatrical, TGA Entertainment and The Shubert Organization.