‘Something Rotten’ Is Anything But

Something Rotten debuted on Broadway back in 2015. It was nominated for 10 Tony Awards!

It's set in 1595 during The Renaissance in London. Shakespeare is all the rage. Shakespeare in Something Rotten is portrayed as a rock star/idol that has screaming fans following him everywhere he goes. He's also a bit pretentious and full of himself. But, I mean, he's Shakespeare. (P.S. I happened to see the show on Shakespeare's real life birthday. He also died on his birthday.)

Cut to the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel. Nick is in charge of an acting troupe and Nigel is a poet and writer. Together, they are going to put together the next big thing in theatre.

Nick is desperate to make some money when he finds out his first born is on the way. He gives his last money to Nostradamus' nephew to find out the future of theatre. And the future is: MUSICALS!

Nick thinks its a ludicrous idea. Why would people stop in the middle of a scene to sing? Why would people break into a dance? All of this while singing it, of course. Nick decides to beat Shakespeare to the punch and put together a musical called Omelette! Kind of like, Hamlet, but not quite.

Then, of course, hilarity, scheming and lots of singing and dancing ensues!

Speaking of dancing, there is so much tap! I love tap! It was so amazing! Even without all the other great singing and laughs, I could have just watched the tap dancing the whole time! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a sucker for a tap number and this show has multiple tap numbers!

Something Rotten is so funny. A lot of the jokes are Shakespeare references or references to other musicals. But even if you're not familiar with either, the show is still hilarious and very entertaining!

Just off the top of my head, Something Rotten has nods to other musicals including Dreamgirls, Cats, Chicago, Rent, Cabaret, Les Miserables, Mary Poppins, Annie, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, The Lion King, and Phantom of the Opera, just to name a few.

Oh, and did I mention, there is a ton of tap! So amazing!

The cast is mostly men, because in The Renaissance it was illegal for women to be on stage, but the two main women leads in this show were amazing. Bea, Nick's wife and Portia, Nigel's love interest definitely steal the scenes they are in. Great job, ladies!

The period costumes were gorgeous and the entire cast was so talented. I had the opportunity to meet a few of them after the show. Fun fact: Matthew Baker, who plays Shakespeare is actually British.

I highly recommend you check out this show. Whether you are a theatre lover or not, it has something for everybody.

The show does have a few swear words and some innuendo. Something Rotten is recommended for ages 8 and over. Use your best discretion.

Something Rotten has two more shows at The Washington Pavilion. Wednesday April 24 and Thursday April 25 at 7:30 PM.

Tickets are available here.