New material or “greatest hits”?
Old jokes aren’t so much like old songs.
'Troupe member Eric Idle assures fans they will get the old favorites — but they are also in for surprises.
'"I've got one or two up my sleeve that will absolutely freak people out," said Idle [...]
'"It's not five old guys on a stage doing old sketches," Idle said of the show, which has a budget of $3.5 million. He spoke by phone to The Associated Press from Seattle.
'The 15,000-seat stadium will be filled with the help of a live orchestra, film footage, special effects and Terry Gilliam's surreal animation. There will be plenty of "rude songs and rude dancing" from an ensemble of 20 singers and dancers — the approach Idle adopted during his performance at the 2012 Olympics closing ceremony.
'"Who wants to look at a bunch of old guys? Put some attractive young people onstage," said Idle, at 71 the youngest of the group. "That's my Broadway background. It's what I learned from 'Spamalot.'" [...]
'"What I've tried to do is make a sort of necklace — and we'll be the jewels. I've tried to make it segue into each other like the old Python shows used to do."'