Monty Python's Spamalot a critical success

Spamalot, the musical based on the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail is proving a critical darling in its pre-Broadway run and a box-office smash before it even opens.

The Broadway season has seen several new musicals disappoint, including Good Vibrations and Brooklyn. Both are hovering near 60 per cent capacity.

But Spamalot, which opened on the Great White Way today, could be the saviour. The show has been filling more than 90 per cent of the seats at the Shubert Theatre in previews and taking a weekly gross of more than US$750,000, ($1.02 billion) rivalling such smash hits as The Lion King, Wicked and Mamma Mia!.