This week, although we’re only going back a few years, we’re going back for some Elizabethan inspired musical theatre comedy.  This week’s TONY Tuesday is:

“A Musical” from Something Rotten! at the 2015 TONY Awards ceremony. 

Something Rotten! tells the story of writers Nick and Nigel Bottom who are having trouble finding success in the shadow of their writing competitor William Shakespeare. When Nick has had enough, he employs a soothsayer to tell him what forms of writing will find success in the future in a bid to get ahead of the game. However, when the soothsayer; Thomas Nostradamus (nephew of the infamous fortune teller Nostradamus) mixes a few of the details up, it doesn’t all go as the Bottom brothers had planned. 

The music and lyrics were composed by brothers Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, who are better known for their work in screenwriting and directing and music production respectively. The musical had been in gestation since the 1990s, but due to other projects, always made its way onto the backburner. In 2010, they met with British writer John O’Farrell who helped them write a treatment for it, alongside the songs that they had composed to pitch to prospective producers. Kevin McCollum financed a workshop that was directed by Casey Nicholaw in 2014. The production was initially set to try out-of-town at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, however, when a Broadway theatre became available, McCollum decided to take a risk and go straight to Broadway. 

The production opened at the St James Theater for previews from 23 March 2015. The production was directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, with set design by Scott Pask, costume design by Gregg Barnes, orchestrations by Larry Hochman and lighting design by Jeff Croiter. The original cast included Brian d’Arcy James and John Cariani as Nick and Nigel Bottom respectively, Christian Borle as Shakespeare, Heidi Blickenstaff as Bea, Kate Reinders as Portia and Brad Oscar as Nostradamus. The production received strong reviews and sold well amongst theatregoers. The production was nominated for ten 2015 TONY Awards, winning for Borle. The production closed on 1 January 2017 with a run just shy of two years. 

The production, starring Rob Mclure as Nick Bottom, Josh Grisetti as Nigel Bottom, Adam Pascal as Shakespeare, Maggie Lakis as Bea, Autumn Hurlbert as Portia and Blake Hammond as Nostradamus toured the United States, opening in Schenectady, New York on 10 January 2017. 

The show made its Korean premiere in 2020, playing Seoul from 7 August-18 October. 

Something Rotten! was set to make its UK premiere at the Birmingham Rep Theatre as part of new Artistic Director, Sean Foley’s inaugural season. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was delayed by a year to October 2021, before again being postponed without any future confirmed date. The production was to be directed by Foley himself, and to be choreographed by SIX choreographer Carrie-Ann Ingrouille. 

Besties, I was fortune enough to see this show on Broadway, and it is line by line, the funniest thing I have ever seen. If you haven’t listened to it, you must, its absolute heaven. 

Cast recording available on streaming services. 

FACTS:

Music: Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick
Lyrics: Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick
Book: Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
Theatre: The St James Theater
Run: 23 March 2015 – 9 January 2017 (32 previews, 708 regular performances) 

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical – Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, Best Original Score - Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, Best Leading Actor in a Musical – Brain d’Arcy James, Best Featured Actor in a Musical – Brad Oscar, Best Costume Design of a Musical – Gregg Barnes, Best Direction of a Musical – Casey Nicholaw, Best Choreography – Casey Nicholaw, Best Orchestrations – Larry Hochman. 

(WON) Best Featured Actor in a Musical – Christian Borle