Charles Shaughnessy Set to Play King Arthur in Ogunquit Playhouse Spamalot

Charles Shaughnessy, best known to TV fans as Mr. Sheffield on the CBS sitcom The Nanny, is set to play King Arthur in the Monty Python musical Spamalot at Ogunquit Playhouse's open-air Leary Pavilion. Previews begin June 16, with an official opening June 18. It runs through July 10.

Based on the 1975 cult comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot tells a highly inaccurate version of King Arthur's quest for the cup of Christ. With book, music, and lyrics by Eric Idle (and additional music by John Du Prez), Spamalot was a major hit on Broadway, where it played 1,575 performances from 2005-2009. Shaughnessy previously starred as King Arthur in the 2010 Ogunquit Playhouse debut.

"As a Monty Python purist, I wanted nothing to do with Spamalot at first," Shaughnessy said in a statement, "but the minute I started working on Ogunquit's production I knew I was in for a treat – and so were audiences! It's a thrill to get back to it, and an absolute joy to be on this impressive outdoor stage."

In a departure from the original Broadway production, Ogunquit's outdoor staging centers on a troupe of vagabond storytellers arrived in a plague-ridden Tudor village to tell the story or King Arthur with their pageant wagon. BT McNicholl, who helmed the show's first national tour, directs.

Joining Shaughnessy onstage are Mariand Torres as Lady of the Lake, Marc Ginsburg as Sir Lancelot, Daniel A. Lopez as Sir Galahad, Josh Grisetti
as Sir Robin, Dwelvan David as Sir Bedevere, Nic Rouleau as The Historian, and Jennifer Cody as Patsy. Maya Kazzaz, Larkin Reilly, Jacob Roberts-Miller, Michael Olaribigbe, Mackenzie Perpich, and Celina Nightengale round out the ensemble.

In light of recent COVID guideline revisions, patrons are welcome to remove their masks while in socially distanced seating for performances in The Leary Pavilion. However, for the health and safety of Playhouse patrons, volunteers, staff, and performers, face coverings are required when bodies are in motion to, from, in, and around the campus.