Something Rotten

Something Rotten

St. James Theatre, NYC, April 30, 2015

 Reviewed by Elizabeth Ahlfors for Cabaret Scenes

John Cariani, Brian d'Arcy James and Heidi Blickenstaff Photo: Joan Marcus
John Cariani, Brian d’Arcy James and Heidi Blickenstaff
Photo: Joan Marcus

Brush up your Shakespeare, refresh your musical theater trivia and get thee to the St. James Theatre for a zany couple of hours of Something Rotten. It is pure silliness, with hummable tunes and side-splitting lyrics right from the top, with the rousing “Welcome to the Renaissance” introducing you to the world of Shakespeare and the Bottom Brothers.
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The book, music and lyrics come from songwriters Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, brothers from Louisiana. Comedy scriptwriter John O’Farrell joins Karey on the book. They may have no Broadway experience, but these guys have been around the film and literary world and know how to strike the funny bone and keep the laughs coming.

The year is 1590, the place, South London. Nick Bottom (Brian d’Arcy James), with the help of his nervous, poetic younger brother (John Cariani), is struggling to create a hit play and knock that braggart, Will Shakespeare, off his pedestal.

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Nick pulls no punches with “God, I Hate Shakespeare.”

As his current project is stalled by writer’s block and money problems, Nick turns for help to a grizzly, vision-challenged fortune teller, Nostradamus (not the famous soothsayer, but his nephew, Thomas). Nick begs Nostradamus to peer into the future for something new that can become a hit show and make Nick the Top Bard.

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Brad Oscar (The Producers), as usual, delves into the comedic absurdity of the fortune teller, who concentrates hard and tells Nick, “You wanna be great then you gotta create ‘A Musical.’” Nick is skeptical, but Nostradamus goes on, “Splashy style and a big fake smile, a snazzy band, some jazzy hands….A La-La-La-La La La Paloozical!” It all builds up to a Broadway-worthy musical number with plenty of tasty cues about big theatrical numbers, resulting in a genuine showstopper. Nick is convinced. A second showstopper comes later, when Nick gets to produce his singing-dancing extravaganza, Omelette the Musical.

The cast fits the bill, making what’s difficult look easy. As the super-ambitious Nick, James (Shrek, The Musical) hits the mark every time, singing in top voice, dancing with brio, keen comic timing and charming stage presence. His wife Bea, played by plucky Heidi Blickenstaff (The Addams Family), proves to be his “right hand man,” whether he likes it or not.

Lovable and sympathetic is Cariani (Fiddler on the Roof) as Nick’s brother Nigel, who tends to double over with stomach pains when life gets too tense. Things perk up when he meets a delicate young Puritan, Portia (Kate Reinders), although they face obstacles from her staunch Puritan father, Brother Jeremiah, played by Brooks Ashmanskas (Bullets Over Broadway) with a swishy flair. Supporting cast includes Gerry Vichi, an amusing Shylock, the Jewish moneylender and later producer of Omelette the Musical, and Peter Bartlett, who portrays pompous Lord Clapham, an unreliable source of funding.

As Shakespeare, Christian Borle (Peter and the Starcatcher) pulls out all the stops, bringing pure rock star pizzazz and a Jagger edge to the guy Nick wants to outshine. Borle’s “Will Power” kills, in a hilarious take on Shakespeare in The Park.

Staging is by master choreographer and director Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon) and, while the first act is stronger, the show keeps a snappy pace to the final wacky, if repetitive ending. Gregg Barnes’s costumes are technicolor bright with codpieces for the men (especially Shakespeare) and we spot a lot of corsets with skirts that are hiked.
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The set by Scott Pask is frankly phony Tudor with lighting finesse by Natasha Katz.

Don’t look for perfection here, but don’t go getting picky either.
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For unabashed goofiness, this Bottom’s on top.

Elizabeth Ahlfors

Born and raised in New York, Elizabeth graduated from NYU with a degree in Journalism. She has lived in various cities and countries and now is back in NYC. She has written magazine articles and published three books: A Housewife’s Guide to Women’s Liberation, Twelve American Women, and Heroines of ’76 (for children). A great love was always music and theater—in the audience, not performing. A Philadelphia correspondent for Theatre.com and InTheatre Magazine, she has reviewed theater and cabaret for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia City News. She writes for Cabaret Scenes and other cabaret/theater sites. She is a judge for Nightlife Awards and a voting member of Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle.