Spotlight on: Something Rotten

     "It's a musical, a musical, and nothing's as amazing as a musical." 

Yep. One of my favorite things to do is going to see a musical. I love them so much and have been lucky in that I've gotten to see quite a few of them. I've enjoyed pretty much all of the musicals I've seen, but there's a few that stand out above the rest. These are the shows that I will always want to see whenever they happen to come around, no matter how many times I've seen them already. I think everyone who loves musicals has some that fall into that category.

They're the shows that you love above all others. For me, these shows include Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked and The Lion King. And now another musical has joined that list. That show is, of course, Something Rotten. I got to see it back at the end of June and I absolutely loved it. I had a feeling that it would be good, but it completely surpassed my expectations. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun at a show. In fact, I don't think I've ever had so much fun at a show. 

It has everything a great show needs: a great story with great music that was performed by a wonderful cast. I've seen it described as a kind of love letter to musicals and that's pretty much what it is. There's so many references and tributes to other shows and I loved that. Something Rotten reminded me of why I fell in love with musicals in the first place. That's the real magic of the show to me.

Plus it's hilarious. I laughed myself silly the entire time. Even listening to the soundtrack gives me the giggles. It's part because most of the songs are amusing and part remembering the performances. There's a couple of things that makes it work. The first is that there's a few surprisingly emotional moments that give the show some balance. But more than that, it's those moments that give it heart. I spent most of the show laughing, but I came to really care about the characters which is something I need to really love a show. 

The other thing that really make the show work is that you really feel like the cast is having fun with it. They all seemed like they were having a ball. It's incredible how much of a difference that can make. When a performer is invested in their performance and genuinely enjoys what they're doing, it creates a wonderful energy that is just so infectious. This is something that I wish every performer understood. It's so much more entertaining to watch a show where the performers are this enthusiastic. 

That said, I can't even begin to imagine how much energy and hard work goes into creating a show this strong. It must be so difficult sometimes. Especially when you factor in how there's bound to be times where they struggle. This can be due to all kinds of things: injuries, illness and flat out exhaustion. I've seen a lot of performers talk about how sometimes the show itself can pull them though. They talk about how much the audience can help too. 

Now I have no idea if anyone in the cast was struggling in any way when I saw the show. If anyone was, you certainly couldn't tell. They all made it seem so effortless. I bring it up because I think that it's important that we, as the audience, take a moment or two to recognize how much work goes into putting on this kind of production. And I'm not just talking about the performers. I'm talking about everyone involved: the musicians, the tech crew, the stage managers and whoever else. It's truly a team effort. You need everyone to make it work. 

So in the perhaps unlikely event that anyone from the show happen to see this, just know that your hard work is appreciated. You made it so I couldn't see the effort behind the performance, but I know it was there. And all of that effort paid off in a truly wonderful show that kept me and the rest of the audience thoroughly entertained the entire time. It really was the most I've ever enjoyed a show, so thank you so much for that. 

It's so hard not to get swept up in a show like this, if not impossible. I have such great memories from this performance and have listened to the original cast recording more times than I can count. That's why I knew I had to write about it. 

I want to say more about the actual performance I saw, but I need to talk about what got me interested in Something Rotten in the first place. The music and lyrics for Something Rotten were done by Karey Kirkpatrick and his brother Wayne Kirkpatrick. They also came up with the concept. Something Rotten is a completely original musical which is another thing I love about it. So what got me interested in it initially? Wayne Kirkpatrick. 

Why? Because Wayne Kirkpatrick is a very successful songwriter who has written multiple hits. He is also the man who helped Little Big Town become what they are today. Those of you who know me know how much I love Little Big Town. A lot. Wayne co-wrote some of their biggest songs with them. He produced what I still believe are their three best albums to date. Namely, The Road to Here, The Reason Why and A Place to Land. Seriously, if you've never checked any of those albums out, I strongly urge you to do so. 

Wayne Kirkpatrick basically helped mold them into who they are today. If I had to come up with a list of people I'd most want to talk about music with, he would absolutely be on it. I respect him a lot, so when I heard that he and his brother had done the music and lyrics for a Broadway show, I knew I had to get the original cast recording. And when it was announced that it was coming here to Nashville, I knew I had to go. Especially when you factor in how many good things I'd heard about the show from people who'd seen it. Seeing it was a no brainer. 

Like I said, I went to this expecting to like it. I did not, however, expect it to become one of my favorite musicals, but that's exactly what happened. I would see it again tomorrow if I could. So let's talk about some of my favorite parts, shall we?

Actually, you know what? Let's back up a bit. Something Rotten takes place in 1595 during the Renaissance. As such, the show opens with a merry minstrel coming out to welcome the audience to the Renaissance. Seriously, the show opens with a song called "Welcome to the Renaissance". It starts off with the Minstrel, played by Nick Rashad Burroughs, and the rest of the ensemble comes in as it goes. 

It does everything a great opening number should do. It sets the stage for what's to come and does so in a catchy and entertaining way. There's a few songs from the show that tend to get stuck in my head and this is one of them. As for the Minstrel himself, he had such a sweet voice. It had this energy to it that instantly pulled me into the world. Or the Renaissance, as it were. Especially as the ensemble filters in. It got me excited for the rest of the story. You really can't ask for more from an opening number. 

Meanwhile, Something Rotten follows the brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom who run a theater troupe in desperate need of a hit. And then we have Shakespeare who is basically a total rock star that everyone adores. Think in the vein of someone like, say, Mick Jagger. He shows up and everyone loses their collective minds. 

Everyone except for our main protagonist Nick Bottom, that is. He's not a fan. To put it mildly. I mean, the next song in the show is called "God, I Hate Shakespeare". Nick was played by Rob McClure and I don't know if I can properly explain how much watching him go on and on about his hatred for Shakespeare amused me. It was so much fun watching Nick get increasingly irritated as the song goes on.

Nick Bottom is one of those characters that I feel like an actor really needs to go all out with which is what Rob McClure did. He was such a great choice for this part. He, along with other members of the cast, played the part on Broadway and I'm so glad that he did the tour. He cracked me up all throughout the show; his facial expressions and reactions to things were priceless. 

And then there's Nigel Bottom, performed by Josh Grisetti. Another one who played the part on Broadway. Nigel is the sensitive and poetic Bottom brother who tries to be like Shakespeare. As you might imagine, this creates some conflict between the Bottom brothers. I loved the way they played off of each other. They made for a nice contrast for each other and balanced each other out. John Grisetti was a great Nigel. He had such a beautiful tone to his voice and I found Nigel to be such an endearing character.

Of course, if I'm going to be talking about the Bottom family, there's one person I can't leave out. Namely, Bea Bottom who is Nick's wife. Come to find out, Rob McClure and Maggie Lakis (Bea) are married in real life as well. All together now: aww.

Can I just say that I absolutely loved Bea? I thought she was such a great character and performed so well by Maggie Lakis. It's hard to pick a favorite character from the show, but I think it might just be Bea. She was a funny and sweet character and gave the show a lot of its heart. Her song "Right Hand Man" is one of my favorite songs from the show and I like the reprise as well. 

Maggie Lakis had such a great voice; I always love voices like hers. The ones that can be so pretty and even Disney princess like. We got to hear that part of Maggie's voice during the first part of "Right Hand More" and more so during the reprise and it was so lovely. But then there's her belt. Y'all. There's some big notes in "Right Hand Man" and she just knocked them out of the park. I loved the tone of her voice, especially when it got all big and brassy, almost. Listening to singers like her always makes me want to work on my own voice and I'm not even a performer. But man, would I love to be able to belt like she can. 

One of the key moments of Something Rotten is when a somewhat desperate Nick decides to seek out a soothsayer (i.e, a person who can see the future) to help him find out what Shakespeare's next hit is going to be, so he can do it first. His searching leads him to Nostradamus. Thomas Nostradamus, played by Blake Hammond who I really liked. He has a vision that inspires Nick to create the world's first musical. 

This leads us into what is easily my, and I imagine most people's, absolute favorite number in the show: "A Musical". This number lasts for several minutes. Honestly, it could have kept on going and I would've been good with it. I didn't want it to stop. It's full of so many references to other musicals - the Les Mis reference is probably my favorite. 

"A Musical" is pretty much an entire Broadway experience crammed into one number. I don't know how else to explain it. The cast was performing on all cylinders for this one. It's truly a show stopping number. This number in a word? Outstanding. 

So outstanding that it got a standing ovation. "A Musical" takes place somewhere around the middle of the first act. I have never seen this happen at any other show I've been to. Standing ovations are generally reserved for the act one finale and the show finale, in my experience. That should tell you something. Something Rotten is worth seeing for "A Musical" alone. It's not just my favorite numbers for this show; it's one of my favorite numbers period. From any show. 

Other highlights from Act One? "The Black Death" is one. Yes, you read that correctly. There's the name of a song and it's about as wrong as the title suggests. But it's wrong in the best possible way. I'm not going to spoil it, but thinking about this number gives me a serious case of the giggles. It's also absurdly catchy. 

Then there's "I Love the Way" which is a duet between Nigel and Portia (Autumn Hurlbert), who is a Puritan and the daughter of Brother Jeremiah. Her father does not approve of theater or poetry at all, but Portia loves it. She was such a cute character and one of the most amusing moments in Act One is when she ends up getting drunk. Autumn Hurlbert did a wonderful job bringing her to life. Portia and Nigel have a sweet little love story that I enjoyed. And Autumn Hurlbert's voice is beautiful. 

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention "the King of couplets, the sultan of sonnets, the man who put the I am in iambic pentameter...the one, the only William Shakespeare". Who was played by Adam flippin' Pascal. Oh my goodness. 

I would think that most people reading this are going to know who that is, but if you don't? Adam Pascal has been in a bunch of shows throughout his career, but he's most known for originating the role of Roger Davies in Rent. Out of all the shows I've gotten to see performed live, Rent is not one of them. He was also the original Radames in Aida, which is another one I've never seen live. Up until this performance, I had only seen Adam Pascal act in the Rent movie. I never imagined that I'd get to see him live. 

So when I found out that he'd joined the Something Rotten Broadway cast and would be going on the tour, I was very cautiously excited. I say very cautiously because I figured that if it worked out to where I did get to see Something Rotten, there was a chance that he'd either have left the tour by that point. Or that it'd be a night where his understudy went on. I can get weirdly paranoid about things like that. In fairness, as strong as this cast was, I'm sure his understudy is great. I would've loved this show regardless.

Let me take a minute to walk you through my experience. The big day arrived. It was the day before my birthday. We get to the TPAC (Tennessee Performing Arts Center). We make the obligatory bathroom stop. Get in line to have our tickets scanned. Get the program. No little paper inside announcing a cast change. 

But I'd be a gigantic lying liar if I said that I still didn't freak out a little bit when he did come out. And by a little, I mean a lot. But at least it was an internal kind of freak out. Mostly. Okay, so maybe I underestimated my level of excitement. I really don't want to take anything away from anyone else in the cast because I thought everyone was great, but it was such a treat getting to see Adam Pascal live! He was fantastic and his voice somehow sounded even better live. 

Based on some of the reactions from people around me, I'm not the only one who thought so. How appropriate that his first number is the highly entertaining "Will Power". Which is basically Shakespeare doing a medley of his greatest "hits" in front of the company that is losing their minds. It's such a fun number. 

Some other highlights? Scott Cote as Brother Jeremiah. There was this gesture he did throughout the show that almost should've stopped being amusing after the first few times, but it remained funny. It just tickled me. He was a great choice for that part.

"We See The Light" is one of my favorite numbers from the second act. It has such a great groove to it that always makes me want to dance. I think it's one of the most infectious songs from the show. It's so ridiculously catchy.

Then there's "To Thine Own Self" which was a great scene since this is where a lot of the building comes to a conflict. It also features male members of the ensemble singing a cappella at one point which I naturally loved. If you've looked around my blog, you may have noticed that I kind of completely love a cappella. So I loved this little section and they nailed it. Come to find out, this wasn't originally in the Broadway version and the Kirkpatrick brothers reworked the number for the tour. Good call, gentlemen. 

We get to see some of the Bottom brothers musical next: "Something Rotten!/Make an Omelette". It's another big show stopping number. I really thought that this might get a standing ovation too, but it didn't. Huge response though. More amusing musical references throughout this one. Loved it. 

"To Thine Own Self (Reprise)" was great because it showcased another side to Nick and thus, Rob McClure, as well. Out of all of his songs, this one may have shown off his voice the best. I hadn't heard of him before this, but I left the show as a fan. He was so wonderful in this role.

It's funny because usually when I leave a good musical, I tend to focus more on the show on the whole and not so much the individual cast members. Save for maybe a few standouts. But there was just something special about this particular cast to me. This was one of the best casts I've ever seen and I'm so happy I got to see them. 

The last thing I want to say about Something Rotten is that it's been a few months since I've seen it, but it's stayed with me. I find myself looking for Something Rotten related things online, specifically on YouTube. Interviews and promos and things. A couple of days ago, I came across a web series that Rob McClure did for Broadway.com. As it happens, the first one I watched was the last (found here). He said something about how the cast and crew was on a mission to make America laugh again and that they were succeeding.

He's right. 

One of the best things about attending live performance, be it a musical or a play or a concert or what have you, is that it's something special that a group of people experience together. Something that no other group of people will experience. No two shows are ever going to be completely identical. There's bound to be some variations, even if only little ones. 

Only the other people that were at the TPAC the night I went got to experience the show I went to. For whatever differences we might have, that's one thing we have in common. We all got to experience a wonderful show together. A show that kept everyone laughing. I'm talking full out, unrestrained laughter. That audience was in hysterics a good portion of the time. Earlier, I said that I laughed myself silly throughout the entire show and I did. My stomach hurt by the end of it and there were a few times I had tears in my eyes.

I can't remember the last time I laughed that much or that hard and you know what? It felt good. It felt really good. There's something pretty wonderful about spending a few hours laughing with a group mostly comprised of strangers. I highly recommend it. If I ever get another chance to see Something Rotten, you can bet that I'm taking it. This is not a show to miss. 

Kudos to everyone involved. 

If this essay has inspired you to check out Something Rotten, here's where you can find all the tour dates: rottenbroadway.com/tickets
And check them out on Twitter.