“Something Rotten!” is part Shakespearean farce and part musical satire with an abundance of codpieces.

~Review and Photos by Dana Nöllsch~

The Story of Something Rotten!

The Musical Something Rotten! follows the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, played by Jared Lively and Hunter Healy, respectively, as they struggle to succeed in the theatrical world in 1595. Their main competition is the superstar William Shakespeare. The Bottom brothers are quite different, which shows in how each of them creates and their approach to theatre.

The Brothers Bottom decide that to succeed, they must come up with the next big thing. But where does that next big thing come from? Nick Bottom has a plan to discover the next big thing, and he enlists the help of a soothsayer, Nostradamus played by Ryan Kelly, to look into the future for him.

As you might expect, this being a satire things don’t go exactly as planned.

The Brothers Bottom do have Stiff competition. This comes in the form of William Shakespeare, played by Michael Davanzo. Shakespeare is on top, and indeed he is a “Pop-Idol” and he has no plans to let this position go. Shakespeare has his own plans, these plans include getting to the bottom of what the Brothers Bottom are up to.

Something Rotten! is full of innuendos and clever little bits. These are thrown to the audience one after the other in rapid succession.

Fast-paced would be an understatement, as Something Rotten! is one of the fastest-paced. This is one of the most energetic plays I have ever seen and the cast keep up this pace remarkably.

Song and Dance

Filled with high energy song and dance Something Rotten! explorers, elements of the Renaissance Timeline, loosely, and with much satire. The opening song is “Welcome to the Renaissance” and sets the mood for what is to come.

The song “God I Hate Shakespeare” is one of my favorites, but there are many memorable numbers. You may like this song “The Black Death” but only if you have a very wicked sense of humor.

The energy of the songs are capped off with the high-spirited dancing of the performers. The performers are spot-on, perfect in the dance numbers, and they are indeed mesmerizing.

Here is a slide show with more photos from Something Rotten!

About the Performances

The cast of Something Rotten! is honestly incredible. It includes accomplished singers and dancers with a lot of energy and acting ability.

The cast is quite large, as you will see when you scroll down to the cast list, but truly, each and every one of them stands out.

Michael Davanzo plays the arrogant Shakespeare with just a hint of civility.

Jared lively plays Nick Bottom with the energy of a desperate man trying to save his livelihood for his family.

Hunter Healy plays Nigel Bottom with the heart of a poet.

Ryan Kelly plays Nostradamus. Kelly brings his larger-than-life acting ability and thousand facial expressions to the character rivetingly.

Amy Ginder plays Bea, Nick’s wife; she uses her remarkable singing ability to emphasize the energy of her character, the ever-supporting, loving wife.

Keeley Cobb is a fabulous dancer portraying Portia with the movements of a ballerina.

DJ Hope sings songs throughout the play as the minstrel.

Dave Beck plays Brother Jeremiah singlemindedly, a religious zealot who is unwavering in his opinions and desire to control.

Owen Bryant is spot on playing Shylock, the man with the money who will lend it to you for certain considerations.

The Bottom Line

Something Rotten! is farcical fun that will keep you laughing. The vivacious singing and dancing will keep you entertained, and the characters will stay with you long after the show has ended.

During this month of Artown, there are many opportunities to find artistic entertainment, and Something Rotten! should be high on your list of things to do.

Something Rotten!

Directed by Bill Ware

Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell

Music and Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick