Review: SOMETHING ROTTEN at Overture Center

There's nothing rotten about Something Rotten! When the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel (Matthew Michael Janisse and Richard Spitaletta) find out that their newest play about Richard II is in direct competition with another play about the same exact thing written and directed by rock star-status-achieving Shakespeare (Matthew Baker), they scrap the entire script and seek out a new idea. Nick, taking all the money in the house, consults psychic Thomas Nostradamus, nephew of the more famous soothsayer, to find out Shakespeare's most famous work. Through some miscommunicated signals from the future, it is discovered that this work is called...Omelette, a show about eggs and a Danish, complete with Nazis and "How do you solve a problem like Ophelia?". The new hook being that it shall be told in a new theatrical fashion called "A Musical" which is also the title of the first act showstopper that references nearly every well know musical in history. My favorite being, "Why is the fiddler on the roof? Because that's where the Chim chimney is!" While the entire cast is strong, some members really stand out. Matthew Baker as Shakespeare does an outstanding job of going from rock star during the song "Will Power" to angsty pop king whilst performing "Hard to be the Bard". Richard Spitaletta, as Nigel tugged at the heartstrings with Jennifer Elizabeth Smith as Portia, singing "I Love the Way" leaving the two girls seated next to me in tears and commenting, "I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying!" Emily Kristen Morris as Bea, wife to Matthew Michael Janisse's Nick, brings so much to the show as she enters the workforce in drag and navigates the show in different roles all as male ("All of the good jobs are for men") adding a bit of feminism and a great deal of comedy to the show. Lastly, Mark Saunders as Brother Jerimiah, (father to Portia) does a fabulous job of playing the puritan antagonist who seems unable to stop himself from speaking in double entendres and inadvertent erection jokes. The "Bottom" line is that this is a fantastic show with an amazing cast. Go see it now! Seriously, stop reading this drivel, buy tickets and go to the theater! #mynewfavoritemusical

"A BIG, FAT HIT!" -New York Post

"INGENIOUS! OUTRAGEOUS! IRRESISTIBLE!" -Variety

Performances begin Tuesday, Oct. 9 in Madison, Wis. at Overture Center for the Arts

Madison, Wis. - Work Light Productions is proud to announce the complete cast for the National Tour of SOMETHING ROTTEN!, which makes its Wisconsin premiere at Overture Center Tuesday, Oct. 9-Sunday, Oct. 14. Local actor and arts administrator (Children's Theater of Madison, Four Seasons Theatre, Capital City Theatre) Brian Cowing will join the national tour's ensemble.

The touring cast features: Matthew Baker as Shakespeare, Matthew Janisse as Nick Bottom, Greg Kalafatas as Nostradamus, Emily Kristen Morris as Bea, Mark Saunders as Brother Jeremiah, Jennifer Elizabeth Smith as Portia, and Richard Spitaletta as Nigel Bottom.

In addition to Cowing, the ensemble includes Drew Arisco, Abby Bartish, Emma Benson, Zachary Bigelow, Katie Scarlett Brunson, Julian Burzynski Jr., Alex Eisenberg, Tim Fuchs, Robert Head, Devin Holloway, Danny Lopez, Keeley Anne McCormick, Nick Pankuch, Aveena Sawyer, Allison C. Scott, Peter Surace, and Dorsey Ziller.

SOMETHING ROTTEN! was originally directed and choreographed by Tony® Award-winner Casey Nicholaw (Mean Girls, The Book of Mormon, Aladdin), with music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winner and Tony Award nominee Wayne Kirkpatrick and Golden Globe Award and Tony Award nominee Karey Kirkpatrick and a book by Tony Award nominees Karey Kirkpatrick and best-selling author John O'Farrell.

The award-winning design team of Broadway veterans includes Scott Pask (scenic design), Gregg Barnes (costume design), Jeff Croiter (lighting design), Peter Hylenski (sound design), Josh Marquette (hair design), Phil Reno (music supervision), Glen Kelly (arrangements), Larry Hochman (orchestrations), Steve Bebout (associate director), Brian P. Kennedy (associate music supervision) and casting by Wojcik | Seay Casting.

This hilarious new musical comedy tells the story of brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom, two playwrights stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock-star Will Shakespeare. When a soothsayer foretells the next big thing in theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, the Bottom brothers set out to write the world's very first MUSICAL! With the most singing, the most dancing and the most gut-busting laughs on Broadway, it's something wonderful... something for everyone... It's SOMETHING ROTTEN!, "the funniest musical comedy in at least 400 years" (Time Out New York)!

With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is an uproarious dose of pure Broadway fun and an irresistible ode to musicals - those dazzling creations that entertain us, inspire us, and remind us that everything's better with an exclamation point!

Tickets are available at the Overture Center Ticket Office (201 State Street), by phone (608.258.4141) or online (overture.org). Groups of 10+ may be eligible for discounted tickets by contacting 608.258.4159.

SOMETHING ROTTEN! is part of the Broadway at Overture Series, presented in partnership with Broadway Across America.

SOMETHING ROTTEN! was originally produced on Broadway by Kevin McCollum, Broadway Global Ventures, CMC, Mastro/Goodman, Jerry & Ronald Frankel, Morris Berchard, Kyodo Tokyo Inc., Wendy Federman, Barbara Freitag, Lams Productions, Winkler/DeSimone, Timothy Laczynski, Dan Markley, Harris/Karmazin, JAM Theatricals, Robert Greenblatt, Jujamcyn Theaters.

OVERTURE CENTER FOR THE ARTS in Madison, Wis., features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where national and international touring artists, ten resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in nearly 600,000 educational and artistic experiences each year. Overture.org

BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA (BAA) is part of The John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com and Group Sales Box Office. Led by 13-time Tony-winning theater producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 44 markets with over 400,000 subscribers. Presentations include Disney's The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, The Phantom of the Opera and Hamilton. Current and past productions include The Band's Visit, Beautiful, Cats, Chicago, Dear Evan Hansen, Hairspray, Mean Girls, The Producers and Waitress.

To post a comment, you must register and login.

 

---

Join Team BroadwayWorld

Are you an avid theatergoer? We're looking for people like you to share your thoughts and insights with our readers. Team BroadwayWorld members get access to shows to review, conduct interviews with artists, and the opportunity to meet and network with fellow theatre lovers and arts workers.

Interested? Learn more here.

---

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!