Reviewed by James Karas
Welcome to the return of the Stratford Festival’s 2024 musical extravaganza, Something Rotten.
The production and the audience’s reception can only be described in superlatives but I will begin and end with outstating praise for Director and Choreographer Donna Feore. I suggest that she is the alpha and omega of the production without forgetting the busload of highly talented performers and behind-the-scenes people who bring the show to us.
Something Rotten is a musical that satirizes modern musicals by poking fun at them while two of the characters are trying to write one themselves. Set in the age of Shakespeare, two brothers, Nick (Mark Uhre) and Nigel Bottom (Henry Firmston) try to earn their daily bread in the theatre. There are many writers around but an arrogant William Shakespeare (Jeff Lillico) dominates the trade.
The two brothers try to emulate
Shakespeare. He is writing a play that sounds like ham. Is it about eating
Danish pastry with ham and eggs? Is it a ham omelet? Some day musicals will
dominate the theatre and you will get a Fidler sitting on a roof and a musical
called Cats and many other such titles. Things are changing and the first song
tells us, “Welcome to the Renaissance” and is followed by “God I Hate
Shakespeare.” There are numerous comic references to modern musicals.
With book and music by Karey Kirkpatrick, music by Wayne Kirkpatric and book by John O’Farrell, the trio covered the music, the comedy and plot of the show brilliantly. After that it was the performers, actors, singers and dancers, under the direction and with the choreography of Donna Feore who put it all together. The people on stage come up to fifty, give or take, if I counted them accurately. I know of smaller villages.
If you are curious about that busload of performers, here is the breakdown. There is the main cast and we have the Acting Troupe followed by The Ladies of the Renaissance and The Bard Boys. We also have the Chefs, and the Renaissance Writers, Astrologers, Townspeople, Puritans, Eggs and Omelets, and the Swings. OK?
Nick and Nigel consult Nostradamus (a hilarious Dan Chameroy) who predicts the future. Shakespeare was two years old when Nostradamus died but don’t bother me with details. OK, the Nostradamus of Something Rotten is the nephew of the real one! There is Shylock (Steve Ross) who wants to invest in a musical but he can’t because he is a Jew. They find a way. And there is the snooty Lady Clapham (Nehassaiu deGannes) who must be obeyed so she can invest. Bea Bottom (Starr Domingue) is a delightful wife and Portia (Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane), a lovely Puritan who delights and surprises. Yes, she is the lawyer who talks about the quality of mercy. The Puritans led by Brother Jeremiah (Juan Chioran), Portia’s father, are a pain in the unmentionable. I may add that the production is not as fastidious as I am in its use of colourful language. Colourful? Make that dirty jokes and sexual puns that are just delightful.
Let’s get down to business and find a suitable subject for a musical. The brothers consider their options. How about Richard II. Too late. Shakespeare has one. How about The Black Death? I don’t think so. What about Omelet, The Musical? The humour, boisterous action, the songs and the gorgeous dance routines keep the audience enthralled.
We get a dance routine done by the eggs and one done by the omelets. These are just two of the fantastic choreography that Donna Feore produces. She never hesitates to put a group of dancers on the stage who do fantastic numbers. The audience jumped to its feet and gave the performers lengthy standing ovations in the middle of the performance. Plus, an uproarious one at the end of the show.
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Something Rotten!, book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, music and lyrics by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, opened on May 29 and will continue in repertory until October 31, 2026, at the Festival Theatre, 55 Queen Street, Stratford, Ontario. www.stratfordfestival.ca
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