The touring cast of Monty Python’s Spamalot. Photo by Joan Marcus

If you know about the Knights of the Round Table, who dance when’er they’re able, then you probably already know that the Monty Python-inspired musical Spamalot is making its long overdue debut in the Bay Area Friday, May 22, and continues through July 5 at the Golden Gate Theatre.

To promote the show, prospective audience members are invited to join the “Bright Side of Life” Video Contest. “Python fans or anyone with an urge to sing and dance, can create a video of their performance version of ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’ and upload the video for a chance to be featured in a TV commercial.”

Grand prize: The winner will have a portion of their video featured in a Spamalot commercial that will air during the Tony Awards on CBS 5 on Sunday June 7, along with 6 tickets to see Spamalot, a meet and greet with select members of the cast, a $200 gift certificate for dinner and Spamalot show merchandise. Three other semi-finalists will win two tickets to see Monty Python’s Spamalot.

The video should be no longer than two minutes, and the deadline is May 31. So get to filming. Complete rules and guidelines can be found here.

LOTTERY TICKETS!

A day-of-performance lottery for a limited number of $25 limited view side orchestra seats will be held daily for Monty Python’s Spamalot. Lottery tickets are available for every performance.

” alt=”” />Each day, two hours prior to curtain, ticket buyers can arrive at the Golden Gate Theatre box office to enter their names in the Spamalot lottery where 30 minutes later, names will be drawn for the winning seats. This lottery is available only in-person at the box office, with a limit of two tickets per person, cash only. Each person must have a valid photo I.D. in order to participate. Visit www.shnsf.com for more information.

Q&A with JOHN O’HURLEY

And the final stop on our Spamalot adventure today is a Q&A I did with John O’Hurley (seen at right, photo by Eric Jamison), of “Seinfeld” and “Dancing with the Stars” fame, who is playing King Arthur in the touring production.

The story appeared in the May 17 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. Read it here.

To help you prepare, here’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” as it originally appeared in Monty Python’s The Life of Brian.