Clay Set To Debut in Spamalot Tonight!

Clay will make his Broadway debut on Spamalot tonight in New York City. Claymania has not only taken over at the Shubert Theatre, but Clay's face is now plastered on New York City buses and he has risen to the #3 most searched for term today at Yahoo.com.

CDD has your complete Spamalot coverage. Here's today's run down of Spamalot mentions in the media:

• WRAL - BrainGame news quiz -

  Question 5
  American Idol Runner-Up Clay Aiken thought the play was, in his words,"The stupidest thing", he'd ever seen. This week he joins the cast in New York. Name the play based on a Monty Python movie.
  The Meaning of Life
  The Life of Brian
  Spamalot
  

• Broadway.com -

  Spamalot
  A hilarious and haphazard musical search for the Holy Grail courtesy of the Monty Python boys. Get tickets now to see Clay Aiken, starting January 18!

• Playbill -

  On Jan. 18 Monty Python's Spamalot, the Tony-winning musical at the Shubert Theatre, welcomes "American Idol" finalist Clay Aiken, West End leading lady Hannah Waddingham and the return of original cast member Christopher Sieber.
  
  Aiken is making his Broadway debut in the roles of Sir Robin/Guard/Brother Maynard, which were originated on Broadway by Tony winner David Hyde Pierce. Aiken's stint is currently scheduled to continue through May 4.
  
  Aiken — who was bested by Ruben Studdard during the second season of "American Idol" — has gone on to sell more than 6 million albums, co-author a best selling book ("Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life") and play six sold-out concert tours. He was a focus of the short-lived Off-Broadway musical Idol: The Musical and has appeared on "Ed," "Saturday Night Live" and "Scrubs."

• New York Observer - "Clay Aiken debuts in "Spamalot" today. (Goings On)"
• New York Magazine -

  Are You Aiken for Spam?: For pathologically undemanding theatergoers who can’t wait for Shrek the Musical, Clay Aiken joins the cast of Spamalot tonight. [Playbill]

• Buffalo News -

  Get ready! The “American Idol” superstar, Clay Aiken, joins the Tony award-winning musical “Monty Python’s Spamalot,” making a line at the stage door of the Shubert Theater on West 44th Street beginning tonight. And he’ll stick with this hilarious show through May 4.
  
  Director Mike Nichols: “Clay is amazing, beyond that glorious voice. Turns out he is an excellent comic actor and a master of character. People are going to be surprised by his wide-ranging talent, since the first impression is of great country charm and a singer to remember. This guy is not only a star; he is a lot more. We’re lucky to get him for ‘Spamalot’!”

• Chortle -

  Clay Aiken, the 29-year-old American Idol runner-up who joined the cast of Monty Python's Spamalot on Broadway this week, has admitted he was no fan of the show. ‘The first time I saw it I thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever seen in my entire life,’ he said. ‘I thought Monty Python was a person until three months ago.

• The New Yorker -

  Starting this Friday, the former “American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken joins the cast of “Monty Python’s Spamalot” as Sir Robin—a role originated in the film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” by Eric Idle, and on Broadway by David Hyde Pierce. Is it a coincidence that the seventh season of “American Idol” also began this week?