The Holy Grail of 'Spamalot' trivia

King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table will make their way to Cape Girardeau today. Their search for the Holy Grail will be portrayed in the Bedell Performance Hall in "Spamalot," the stage adaptation of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

The show will be at 7:30 p.m. today. Tickets are $49 or $43 River Campus box office, by calling 651-2265, at metrotix.com or MetroTix outlets.

Not much more -- perhaps not much at all -- can be said about the plot, but we've gathered a few bits of trivia in case you find yourself up against a Bridgekeeper who demands you answer three questions. You know your name. You know your quest. Here are some fun facts from the stage production, most of which are lovingly ripped from the show's website:

* The air-speed velocity of an unladen European swallow is roughly 20 to 24 mph, according to experts. No consistent research has been done on the African swallow.

* The show uses more than 100 wigs, some of which are for facial hair. The wigs are made of hair from humans, yak and synthetic material.

* The prop cow catapulted over the castle at King Arthur and his men weighs 45 pounds. Two stagehands throw it over the wall.

* The show uses six pounds of confetti during the final tune of each performance.

* The poorest peasants' costumes in the show are actually made of raw silk.

* "Spamalot" uses about 40 coconuts per month, supplied by the Coconut King in Florida.

* The Feet of God prop weighs in at 1,700 pounds, making it the heaviest piece manually lifted in the show.

* The heaviest piece by far is the show Portal, which weighs 2,800 pounds.

* The electrics department uses six tanks of liquid carbon dioxide per week to create the low-ground fog effect and uses eight fire extinguishers per week for the Feet of God "blast off" effect.

* Each performance needs more than 80 people on stage and off to make it a success.