“God, I hate Shakespeare! That’s right, I said it!”
What happens when you take a Shakespeare play and add omelets and sex jokes? You get “Something Rotten,” the newest touring Broadway show to make its way to Knoxville at the Tennessee Theatre.
This musical sets its scene in 1595, and William Shakespeare is the most popular thing to ever hit England. Nick Bottom and his brother Nigel are two struggling playwrights who only dream of the success that Shakespeare has garnered. When his latest play loses its funding, Nick seeks out a soothsayer to try and find out what the next big thing in theatre will be so he can finally beat Shakespeare.
“Something Rotten” debuted in 2015 on Broadway to critical acclaim, garnering nine Tony nominations, including best musical. Does the touring version measure up to the original production’s quality?
“Something Rotten” was an absolute blast to watch. As a fan of the original production, I was nervous going in, but I was not let down.
Almost the entire cast is absolutely fantastic. Matthew Michael Janisse is amazing as Nick Bottom, the show’s leading man. His voice and comedic timing were fantastic, and I never got tired of seeing him on stage.
Matthew Baker is hilarious as Shakespeare, effortlessly turning history’s most famous playwright into one of the most charming antagonists that I’ve seen in recent theatre.
Supporting characters, like Richard Spitaletta as Nigel Bottom and Greg Kalafatas as Thomas Nostradamus, backed the leads with solid performances. Spitaletta makes Nigel one of the most likeable supporting characters in musical history, making the audience fall in love with him quickly. Kalafatas leads the ensemble in an extraordinary performance of the song “A Musical,” which received a standing ovation.
The female leads were hit or miss, with Jennifer Elizabeth Smith giving a strong performance as Nigel’s star-crossed lover and Emily Kristen Morris giving a less-than-stellar performance as Bea, Nick’s wife. Smith was an absolute joy, matching the level of talent of the rest of the cast. Morris, however, seemed to be having an off night, not landing a few notes and even missing a few lines in her solo, “Right Hand Man”.
The costumes looked amazing, ranging anywhere from bedazzled versions of typical Renaissance attire to giant egg suits. No matter what the cast was wearing, they looked fantastic.
The lights and sound people at the Tennessee Theatre also seemed to be having an off night. A few of the spotlights were noticeably shaky at certain points during the production which really took away from the play. Also, one of the actor’s microphones didn’t turn on during one of their parts, making it impossible to hear them.
“Something Rotten” is a play tailor-made for fans of Shakespeare and musical theater. If you go into the show with little or no knowledge about either genre, you will miss many of the jokes.
While it wasn’t perfect, “Something Rotten” was one of the most fun times I have ever had in a theatre. The tour’s cast elevates the stellar script and songs of the play, and the end result is a show that both Shakespeare fans and musical theatre nerds will not want to miss.
