From Spears to Spice: Spamalot Alters Britney Lyric
A lyric has been changed in the Broadway, London, Las Vegas and touring productions of the Tony-winning musical Monty Python's Spamalot.
The Associated Press reports that a reference to the much-in-the-news Britney Spears has been removed from the song "Diva's Lament," which is performed by the Lady of the Lake.
About the change, Spamalot co-creator Eric Idle had this to say to AP via e-mail: "Because we don't laugh at sad people. Mike Nichols (the show's director) requested it and he's right. We changed the lyrics in London, on tour, on Broadway and in Las Vegas. We think that it's now too sad. Britney Spears is being tortured to death and we don't want to be on that side."
The original lyric stated: "I am sick of my career/ Always stuck in second gear/ Up to here with frustration and with fears/ I've no Grammy no rewards/ I've no Tony Awards/ I'm constantly replaced by Britney Spears/ Britney Spears!" The revised lyric follows: "My love life is a mess/ I've got constant PMS/ My career is about as hot as ice/ They hate me there backstage/ They say I'm too old for my age/ They're trying to replace me with Posh Spice/ With Posh Spice!"
West End leading lady Hannah Waddingham is currently playing Lady of the Lake on Broadway.
* Mike Nichols ("The Graduate," "Angels in America") directed and Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone) choreographed the show that was inspired by the 1975 feature film comedy "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
The musical tells the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table on their quest from God for the Holy Grail - with a short stop in the dazzling Spam-filled land of Camelot.
Spamalot earned the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical and took home honors for direction (Mike Nichols) and one of its stars (Sara Ramirez). The musical still plays on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre and currently enjoys runs in London, Las Vegas and a national tour. An Australian production opened in Melbourne in November.
For information on all Spamalot incarnations, visit montypythonsspamalot.com.
braxistExtremist on June 26th, 2021 at 14:55 UTC »
And she's still going through a rough time. She's currently fighting to get free from 13 years of conservatorship, which has apparently left her depressed and with very little control of her own life.
talldrseuss on June 26th, 2021 at 14:47 UTC »
Reminds me of when Craig Ferguson gave an excellent monologue on his show when Britney spears was having those public mental health issues 14 years ago. He reflected on his own substance abuse and mental health issues and acknowledged that we have a bad habit of laughing at those that obviously need help, and he didn't want to poke fun at her anymore.
Edit: The Craig Ferguson monologue
nowhereman136 on June 26th, 2021 at 14:47 UTC »
"I am sick of my career
Always stuck in second gear
Up to here with frustration and with fears
I've no Grammy, no rewards
I've no Tony Awards
I'm constantly replaced with Britney Spears
Britney Spears "
Start around the 0:50 mark, although the whole song is pretty good. This is from the Cast album, which is stuck in 2005, still has the line but subsequent performances of the show have the line changed. Similarly, lines about George Bush and Donald Trump were taken out of Avenue Q and In the Heights, respectively.