For Python fans there will never be as grand a group as the original members of the irreverent television series, Monty Python's Flying Circus. Eric Idle, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin are peerless. Having said that, this ten-night paean to the silliness of Python skits is a darned close second.

Jeff B. Davis, Jane Leeves, Alan Tudyk, Rick Holmes, and Jim Piddock step into the roles so hilariously created, and they manage to capture the zany, left-of-center characterizations that American audiences have zestfully embraced. In the opening night crowd die-hard fans were ready to cheer on the troupe as familiar sketches emerged. Not only that, they were in the lobby buying up memorabilia, one assumes to add to their collections.

Some of the best of the sketches have been repeated. There's the Minister of Silly Walks, The Spanish Inquisition, the Dead Parrot and the Lumberjack Song--all delivered with the serious demeanor expected but also with barely suppressed mirth. I asked Davis (whose inspired work on Who's Line Is It Anyway? makes him a great choice for the ensemble) how long they had worked together, and he replied that they had only been together for two weeks, a testimony to the comedy craftsmanship they all possess.

Directed by Eric Idle and B. T. McNichol, the show appears to be spontaneous, a feat that only good directors can achieve. Idle says that he picks funny people, and that means that he has little work to do.

Piddock and Davis are marvelous as the Pope and Michaelangelo discussing the flaws in the artist's representations. "There is only one Messiah," snaps Davis. "I know that! We all know that! But what about some artistic license," Piddock argues genially.

There's pie throwing, silly walking, and general madcap mayhem. Ann Closs-Farley's terrific costumes are donned with breakneck speed so that the flow from sketch to sketch is perfect. One notable costume hasLeeves donning a particularly hilarious Santa suit, complete with large plastic breasts. Peggy Hickey also produces comical choreography to accompany skits.

Describing Monty Python sketches is a near impossibility. You really have to see them to appreciate the serio-comic delivery of the characters. For a taste, visit http://www.aneveningwithout.com/ and see a great teaser. This production celebrates forty years of Monty Python, and one hopes they will go on for forty more.

An Evening Without Monty Python, presented at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre and New York City Town Hall. Sept. 23- Oct. 10.