Through August 7
Nothing is rotten about the Beck Center’s fast-moving summer offering, Something Rotten. An allusive feast, the musical, playing in the Senney Theater through August 7, makes snappy, satirical fun of literary icon William Shakespeare and his imagined rivals.
What if musicals had been invented during the Renaissance in Britain? Not merely creating a show with occasional music presented before and after the story, but one with music as its reason for being, its very heart? One answer is seen at the Beck as director Scott Spence’s merry crew dances and sings through this alternate universe as Nick and Nigel Bottom invent “A Musical.”
Almost a classic by now, this unabashed celebration of musicals opened on Broadway in 2015. With music and lyrics by brothers Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, book by John O’Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick, musical direction by Larry Goodpaster, and choreography by Martín Céspedes, the award-winning show evokes and celebrates iconic musicals past.
Cue the theme song, oft repeated with gusto, “Welcome to the Renaissance.” It is immediately followed by brothers Nick Bottom (Eric Fancher) and Nigel Bottom (Ian Stewart) singing about how obnoxious the Bard of Avon is in “God, I Hate Shakespeare.” Fancher and Steward play off each other well, at times sounding like real brothers as they squabble and collaborate.
The feather-light plot revolves around the Bottom brothers’ efforts to be more popular than Shakespeare. They meet Nostradamus (Matthew Wright), an imperious soothsayer, who predicts that the next big thing in Renaissance theater will be a musical that involves ham, or maybe, eggs. (Do not ask this idea to make sense — it is a musical — just go with it.)
As the story moves along, Nick’s long-suffering wife, Bea Bottom (a convincingly resourceful Theresa Kloos) comes into her own. Even his awkward poet brother Nigel finds love when he meets Portia (clear-voiced and charming Eileen Brady) and takes her to a Shakespeare festival as his “plus-one.”
Shakespeare (an energetic Scott Sumerak) lords it over everyone. Sumerak, who seems at times to channel Lin-Manuel Miranda’s confident creativity, plays the Bard of Avon. Shakespeare is both pop star and (we see later) plagiarist.
Other characters include the minstrel who introduces the show (mellow-voiced Trey Milcowitz); a militant Puritan, Brother Jeremiah (Brian Altman); Lord Clapham (an impatient John Polk), and Shylock (a scheming Tim Tavcar).
Familiar lines from Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and other famous Shakespeare hits, mingle with tunes and allusions to dozens of musicals popular in our time. The nimble Beck Center ensemble cast dances and sings through so many musical sound bites that the viewer feels a bit dazed (but still delighted): Les Misérables, The Music Man, South Pacific, Chicago, and more. It is a musical feast. Guides to references from other shows in “A Musical” (an almost ten-minute number) can easily be found on the internet. Recognizing tunes as they unexpectedly appear adds to the glee.
Multi-talented ensemble members include Nicholas Bradley, Hailey Elberg, Stella Fisher, Trevor Gill-Snow, Jared Guerrasio, Mack Hubbard, Imani Jackson, Connor McFalls, Bridget Mahoney, Zach Monczewski, Erin Ripley, Shane Strohmenger, Eliana Taub, Josh Trattner, Jonah Warhaft, Lily Warner and Calista Zajac. Bravo to every one of them for not losing energy or spark — pretty sure they won’t need to work out during the show’s run — whew!
Costumes by Inda Blatch-Geib provided for numerous quick changes. Cheri DeVol (scenic design), Ben Gantose (lighting design), and Angie Hayes (sound design) also contributed. Larry Hochman conducted a small orchestral ensemble with arrangements by Glen Kelly.
Bottom Line: A lively show with laughs, a charming cast, and a swift pace. For a musical treat this summer, indulge in Something Rotten at the Beck.
Something Rotten runs through August 7 at the Beck Center. Get tickets here.
[Written by Laura Kennelly]