The oddball musical-comedy "Spamalot" is a lot of things (giddy tops the list) with one exception: It's not exclusively for Monty Python fans.

That may be unusual given that "Spamalot's " Python roots run deeper than a redwood tree. And it borrows directly many classic moments from the 1974 film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail." Yet "Spamalot," the 2005 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, welcomes patrons who can't recite Python dialogue with uncanny accuracy.

"People are surprised by that, " said veteran Broadway star Gary Beach, who stars in the touring production. "There isn 't mystery. It 's not a club to belong to. If you 're a Python fan, you 're gonna love it. If you 're not, you 're going to get it and enjoy it. "

"Spamalot" arrives in Madison Tuesday for a six-day, eight-show run -- Overture Hall's biggest event this season -- and no matter where it plays the show draws the odd mix of young adult males and older musical buffs. Python 's fan base often leans toward males, and Beach said he can tell by the audience 's deep and robust laughter how true that is.

"I call it frat boy ' fun, " Beach said. "The plot is ice thin. We 're not there to change lives. "

Instead, Beach wants laughs. And he knows theatrical comedy, having won a Tony Award in "The Producers, " one of theater 's most acclaimed comedies ever on Broadway.

Having been with "The Producers ' " original cast and also done a Broadway revival of "La Cage aux Folles, " Beach is comfortable with edgy comedy. He understands his good fortune.

"Someone told me how lucky I am to hear as much laughter as I 've heard in the last nine years, " Beach said.

Joining "Spamalot 's " national tour seemed like a natural choice for him. He loved seeing "Spamalot, " written by Python cast member Eric Idle, in New York. But "Spamalot " puts Beach, 60, on a touring show for the first time in 25 years.

"I was in a (touring) show with Mary Martin and Carol Channing, " he said. "Everyone went on the road.

"Ethel Merman, Alfred Drake, Elaine Stritch. You did it in New York and you took it on the road. "

"Spamalot 's " touring cast features actors with a wide range of impressive credits, including one actor from the show 's original Broadway cast. "Spamalot " also recreates its Broadway-caliber spectacle on tour and chides Andrew Lloyd Webber 's work with a not-so-subtle showtune ballad.

"People don 't get a cut-rate performance, set, props, orchestra or anything, " Beach says. "They 're paying a lot of money and they deserve it. "

Proud of Broadway 's product, Beach strongly urges theater patrons who see touring shows to be vocal to an auditorium 's management if they feel any production is poor or even average quality.

Beach is also traveling each week from venue to venue by car, allowing his partner and his dog to join him on the road. He 's savoring the scenery after performing in New York for several years. His career did veer into Los Angeles in the early 1990s. At one point, he appeared in an episode of the vapid kid comedy TV series "Saved By the Bell. " He played a character named Gem Diamond, who sold class rings to the high school student cast.

"I can 't tell you how often kids of a certain age say, You were the ring salesman. ' I didn 't know how popular ( Saved By the Bell ') was. "

A few years later, Beach won a Tony Award after being nominated twice. He savors the win and realizes how far he 's come from take-what-you-can-get TV roles. The Tony Award, he adds, sits in his living room at his New York home.

"It 's on a pedestal, " he says. "I don 't believe people who say they hide it. "

If you go

What: "Spamalot"

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, May 18.

Where: Overture Hall, 201 State St.

Tickets: $78, $65, $55 and $33 Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday matinee and both shows on Sunday, May 18; $83, $71, $60 and $38 Thursday, Friday and Saturday night's show. Tickets have sold extremely well for Saturday's shows. Availability is best on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Check www.overture
center.com or call 258-4141.