Great news, everyone! If you didn’t know already, John Cleese and his daughter Camilla have written a new musical version of the comedy classic, A Fish Called Wanda - and now Bill Bailey is set to help write some of the songs. We approve.
Following on from Cleese’s ‘How To Finance Your Divorce Tour’ after he was hit hard by his divorce from Alyce Eichelberger, the Python legend is looking to debut the project in San Diego, then move it on to Broadway and London’s West End.
If it has half the success of the Monty Python musical, he should be rolling in it once more, and with his recent email announcement to fans beaming with confidence, saying:
‘We've just completed the book for the musical of A Fish Called Wanda and I'm pleased that Camilla hasn't completely stolen all of my dignity in writing so brilliantly. She's left me a few scraps to hang onto to keep me warm at night.
‘Soon, we'll start to work on the songs for the show with Bill Bailey, who, among his many achievements, is an honourary member of the Society of Crematorium Organists. This musical is destined to be a hit amongst funeral directors.’
But who would you like to see playing the immortal roles of Archie, Wanda, Otto and Ken? We’re hoping, nay, praying (perhaps in some alternate universe) that Johnny Depp might step in as Otto, but that’s about as likely as resurrecting a dead parrot. Still, we can dream, eh?