By Samara Caplan and Laura Gauthier. Laura and Samara spend their days as non-profit unicorns and fill every spare minute exploring the world of musical theatre as BFFs (that’s Broadway Friends Forever). Follow @bffs613 on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
It’s a musical! And not just any musical, but the one we have been eagerly waiting for. Originally announced as part of the 2020/2021 season, Something Rotten is finally here. Presented by Orpheus Musical Theatre, the show will play at Meridian Centrepointe Theatre until June 11.
Something Rotten is a period piece comedy that follows brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom in their search for fame as playwrights. But it’s hard to get any time in the limelight when your biggest competition is the one and only Renaissance rockstar—“The Bard.” When the brothers are foretold that the future of theatre is something called a “musical,” they start working feverishly to write the very first one and try to outshine Shakespeare himself!
Photo by Maria Vartanov
The original cast was filled with Broadway greats–Christian Borle, Brian D’Arcy James and Heidi Blickenstaff–so bringing this show to life is no small feat! Orpheus never disappoints us with their casting, and D.J. Eyamie as Nick and Itzy Kamil as Shakespeare were fantastic, as was the entire ensemble delivering laughs and some incredible harmonies. There were a few times that sound issues made it tricky for the audience to hear the densely-packed words and catch all of the nuances, but that might have just been opening night technical issues to sort out. The period costumes for this were stellar, and it’s always wonderful to see musical theatre with live musicians who elevate the experience.
A laugh-out-loud show from beginning to end and full of originality, Something Rotten is going to be the most fun you have had at a musical in a long time. Including show-stopping hits like “God, I Hate Shakespeare,” “Right Hand Man” and the infamous “Hard to Be the Bard,” good luck getting any of this music out of your head anytime soon.
Something Rotten continues at Meridian Centrepointe Theatres until Sunday, June 11, 2023. Shows are Friday, Saturday, Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30pm, and Sunday matinees at 2pm. Tickets cost $32-$57. The show runs about 2 hours and 35 minutes with one intermission.
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