“Something Rotten!” — with an apt exclamation point — is a blissful and bountiful mashup of Shakespeare and Broadway musicals.
The show opened Friday night at Diamond Head Theatre amid howls of delight. It’s jammed with so many familiar bits from the Bard and beaucoup rapid-fire references to myriad stage hits, it’s virtually impossible to count ’em.
The irresistible story is set in the London of the ’90s — specifically 1595 — where the Bottom brothers, the ambitious Nick (Kevin Pease, showcasing a powerhouse voice) and meek, soft-hearted Nigel (Ryan Dressell), aspire to upstage and bypass the prevailing rock-star playwright, William Shakespeare, whose “Romeo and Juliet” is the current rage.
PROBLEM IS, Will (Aleks Pevec, with gyrations and swagger like a true idol) enjoys widespread adoration and acclaim, and the brothers are clueless about how they can compete with his fame and fortune. So the wannabes seek advice from a soothsayer, Thomas Nostradamus (Garrett Hols, a comic gem) — not the seer but a nephew — whos suggests “a musical.”
“SOMETHING ROTTEN”Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes
>> Where: Diamond Head Theatre, 520 Makapuu Ave.
>> When: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 3 p.m. Saturdays, and 4 p.m. Sundays, through April 14
>> Cost: $15-$50
>> Info: 733-0274, diamondheadtheatre.com
It matters little if you have only a slight admiration of the Bard or a scanty acclimation to stage musicals; an exuberant cast of singers and dancers delivers spirited performances in this sprightly parody.
The production, which ran from 2015 to 2017 on Broadway, received mixed reviews yet earned 10 Tony nominations and won one, featured actor in a musical for Christian Borle’s performance as Shakespeare. The book is by John O’Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick, with songs by the Kirkpatrick brothers, Karey and Wayne.
The take-away number is “A Musical,” midway through Act I, where a montage of scenes and songs from hit musicals suggests a blueprint for the Bottom chaps, who ultimately hatch an absurd property called “Omelette,” an allusion to “Hamlet.”
There is much ado about everything. Nick and Nigel place all their eggs in one basket, and the plot embraces such classic lines as “now is the winter of our discontent,” “to be or not to be” and “get thee to a nunnery,” plus references to “star-cross’d lovers” and names like Portia, Ophelia, Shylock, and even Bottom, from the Bard’s literary roster.
Then there’s a string of Great White Way links, from “The Phantom of the Opera” to “Annie,” from “Les Miserables” to “The Lion King,” from “Fiddler on the Roof” to “The Music Man.” Oh, and Bob Fosse hand movements and plenty of tap-dancing and Radio City Music Hall and “A Chorus Line” lineups.
THE PREY’S the thing, but it’s a hard-knock life: A disguised Shakespeare sneaks into a preview of the Bottoms’ work on the pretense of being an undercover cast member and steals lines for his own plays.
Nick’s wife Bea (Megan Ellis) is a sort of Renaissance feminist, lumbering through jobs disguised as a man to earn income for a new home. Nigel’s unexpected romance with Portia (Kyla Blase), daughter of Brother Jeremiah (Don Farmer), the condemning Puritan lord who believes theater is the work of Satan, play out the Romeo and Juliet conflict but with a happier ending.
John Rampage, who directed and choreographed (with tap coordinated by Erin McFadden), has seen “Rotten!” five times on Broadway and he gleefully packs scenes with authority and precision. Everyone seems to be having a genuine blast, and the joy spills into the audience.
Though the score lacks a hummable tune, conductor-keyboardist Ike Webster conducts his seven-piece orchestra with reverence, tapping swift tempos on the opening “Welcome to the Renaissance” and Shakespeare’s upbeat “Will Power,” with a cozier aura on Portia and Nigel’s sweet “I Love the Way.”
Willy Sabel’s functional set features a centerpiece house-front opening to a theater, and Karen Wolfe’s colorful period costumes add credence to the setting, though the gents’ codpieces are something odd.