Ethan Slater joins Broadway's new Spamalot amid Ariana Grande romance

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It feels like a law of theatrical gravity: After Camelot, there must come a Spamalot. Following Aaron Sorkin's recent Lincoln Center revival of the classic King Arthur musical, Broadway is moving forward with a new version of Monty Python's iconic King Arthur spoof musical. The cast of the new Spamalot was announced Wednesday, and it includes Ethan Slater in the roles of Prince Herbert and the Historian.

Slater's breakthrough role came as the star of the SpongeBob SquarePants Broadway musical in 2017. He recently jumped from stage to screen when he was cast as Boq in the two-part Wicked film adaptation. On that set, he met costar Ariana Grande (who plays Glinda the Good Witch), and the two recently started dating in the wake of Grande's split from husband Dalton Gomez. Slater, too, was married prior to the start of this relationship, and recently filed for divorce from wife Lilly Jay.

In addition to Slater, the new Broadway Spamalot cast includes James Monroe Iglehart as King Arthur, Christopher Fitzgerald as the king's servant Patsy, Leslie Kritzker as the Lady of the Lake, Jimmy Smagula as Sir Belvedere, Michael Urie as Sir Robin, and Nik Walker as Sir Galahad.

Many of those actors are carrying over from the recent production of Spamalot at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., but Slater and Fitzgerald are new to the Broadway incarnation. Interestingly, that's not the only connection they share: Fitzgerald actually originated the role of Boq in Wicked on Broadway, and now Slater is playing the character in the film adaptation.

The only major Spamalot character that has not yet been cast is Sir Lancelot. The production said that "the role of Sir Lancelot will be knighted at a later date" — but still dedicated a whole Instagram post to this non-announcement, which might indicate that producers have some sort of surprise up their sleeve.

'Spamalot' at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
'Spamalot' at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Jeremy Daniel 'Spamalot' at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Inspired by the beloved 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spamalot is renowned for its humor and general good vibes.

"I don't want to be too Irish about the whole thing, but it makes me very nervous when something is this much fun," Tim Curry, who originated the role of Arthur in the first Broadway production, told EW in 2005. "People are liking it so much."

Preview performances for Spamalot begin this Halloween, and the official opening night is set for Nov. 16.

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