Two years ago, a friend of mine went to Broadwaycon, and told me about a funny, clever show she happened to see called Something Rotten!. Shortly after that I found the cast album on Amazon and fell in love with this show’s wit. I missed the chance to see Something Rotten! when it came through Boston last year, so I’m really excited to see it this weekend in Worcester!
This show is funny. *Really* funny! Imagine William Shakespeare as a rock and roll star. Two up and coming playwrights, Nick and Nigel Bottom, aspire to be the next big thing, but Will keeps getting all the glory. The play may indeed be the thing for Shakespeare, but the Bottom brothers are going out on a limb to try this new thing called, “A Musical”! Chaos and humor ensues.
With songs like, “God I Hate Shakespeare”, “The Black Death”, and “Hard to Be The Bard”, you’ll be laughing laughing from start to finish. Much ado has been made in particular about the song called “A Musical”. There are references to 20 popular Broadway musicals. This video from the official Something Rotten! Broadway channel on YouTube highlights some of them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KFNcy9VjQI
You can also watch this video of Something Rotten! co-creators Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick as they sing their way through “A Musical” and each reference is noted. There were a few I hadn’t even caught before, like Cats and Sweeney Todd! http://www.wsj.com/video/the-secrets-of-omething-rotten-biggest-number/6B93C01D-7974-4A9D-8FCB-CBEAF178B778.html
Something Rotten! opens tonight at The Hanover Theatre in Worcester, Ma, and runs through Sunday Feb. 25. For more information, and to purchase tickets, go to the Hanover Theatre’s website: http://www.thehanovertheatre.org/somethingrotten
If you’re hoping to catch Adam Pascal as Shakespeare (he was Roger in the OBC of Rent), make sure you get tickets for Sunday evening’s performance or Sunday’s matinee. Alas, my tickets were a Christmas gift, and the giver didn’t know that detail. I’m still psyched to see the show!