The Stratford Festival Theatre Review: Something Rotten!

By Ross

“Welcome to the Renaissance“, indeed! Captivatingly sung by the jaunting minstrel, joyfully delivered by Jeremy Carver-James (Citadel’s 9 to 5) standing tall on his soap box, the energy and excitement of this show are lit from within almost instantaneously. Soaring like a sweet violin, the Stratford Festival has delivered the goods to the highest of levels with its solidly hilarious and well-performed production of Something Rotten! Pitching forth the future of theatre, this production is as clever and funny as any merry minstrel strolling the streets of London strummin’ the lute. Filled with so much farcical pleasure as one could hope for with the Bottom brothers rising to the top in hit-making style, this madcap deliciously funny musical is an absolute perfect fit for the Stratford Festival Main Stage, singing and dancing its special blend of irony and comedy forward for us all to lap up and embrace by an audience well informed to hear and take in all the hysterically sharp references and jokes.

With a solidly sharp-witted book by Karey Kirkpatrick (“Chicken Run“) and John O’Farrell (“The Man Who Forgot His Wife“), with hilariously strong music and lyrics by the Kirkpatrick brothers; Wayne (“Change the World“) and Karey (“Smallfoot“), this revival of the Broadway musical, Something Rotten!, is just plain punchdrunk perfect, flinging out all the ingredients of the Festival’s success, and poking a big sharp stick at it all as we laugh and smile along. It’s a farcical laugh-riot, playing joyfully and ridiculously with these well-known names and theatrical titles from a different historical angle than what we are used to at the famed Stratford Festival.

Set down in 1595 and directed and choreographed to the highest order by Donna Feore (Stratford’s Chicago; Billy Elliot the Musical), the unraveling and enlightenment finds the Bottom Brothers, played most expertly by the wonderfully funny and talented Mark Uhre (Broadway’s Les Misérables; Grand’s Seeds of Self) as the older, married Nick Bottom, and the incredibly charming Henry Firmston (Stratford’s Spamalot) as his sweet, younger brother Nigel, stiffening their resolve as they struggling to find success in London, England’s theatre world; a world that is being dominated by their one-time acting colleague, and now the famously successful writer, poet, and playwright, Mr. William Shakespeare.

With their financial hand forced by their patron, the beautifully carried forward Lady Clapham, played to hilarious perfection by Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah (Stratford’s A Wrinkle in Time) making the most of every entrance and exit, these two brothers have to discover a new idea for “Bottom’s Gonna Be on Top“, something that will change the game once and for all. Uhre’s spectacular turn as the older Bottom brother, Nick, is a force of nature, clinging to a huge grudge against his former acting company member, Shakespeare, played peacock-glorious by a delightfully fun Jeff Lillico (Soulpepper/SignatureNYC’s Of Human Bondage). It’s a fantastically orchestrated anger, played to the heavens by Uhre and company, as we watch him seeth in this rivalry while also taking on the weight and responsibility for his [gloriously cute] brother and his wife, Bea, portrayed magnificently by the ever-changing Starr Domingue (Stratford’s Little Shop of Horrors). It’s a role he takes on, even as his wife begs him to let her help out and be his “Right Hand Man.” And even though we all see that she is more than simply capable, Uhre’s Nick desperately strides forward utilizing the energy of “God, I Hate Shakespeare” as motivation to seek out a soothsayer by the name of Nostradamus, played hilariously well by Dan Chameroy (Stratford’s Chicago). He’s not the famed one; just a relation, but in an act of pure desperation, Nick hires him to help find his futuristic hit, even if the cost is high.

The set-up is as spectacular as the song and dance number, “A Musical” which energetically and hilariously never stops uncovering parallels and parodies that amaze. It’s a fine-tuned, witty unraveling, overflowing with smart references and some stupendous dance segments delivered by long-legged eggs and tortilla wraps. But the real and true art of this extremely funny musical and this Stratford rendering are found within the familial and communal aspects of the whole production. It’s a complete family affair as it should be, centered around two loving brothers and the women and company who adore them. When I saw the show when it made its unprecedented jump to Broadway in 2015, Something Rotten! seemed to be a star-driven extravaganza, all about Christian Borle’s Tony-winning turn as Shakespeare, followed closely by Brian d’Arcy James’s starry turn as Nick Bottom. But here in Stratford, Ontario, the show has found its strength in the more communal way it shares the spotlight. Maybe it’s because of the company structure that the Stratford Festival brings to all of its productions, giving it an environment where a more family-centric approach has flourished. That framing has gifted us a production where so many are given moments to truly shine and create something special, from some silly hilariously constructed stage work, backed by the wondrous music direction by Laura Burton (Stratford’s You Can’t Stop the Beat) to the perfectly crafted performance of Firmston as the gentle poet, Nigel, and his love for the glorious Portia, played to perfection by the lovely Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane (Stratford’s Rent).

Against a clever backdrop of renaissance reconstructions, designed with wit and style by set and costume designer Michael Gianfrancesco (Stratford’s Richard II), with superb lighting by Bonnie Beecher (Stratford’s Twelfth Night) and a solid sound design by Haley Parcher (Kennedy Center’s Sunset Boulevard), these two lovebirds, vexed by the well-choreographed Puritan Brother Jeremiah, father to Portia, played hilariously sly by Juan Chioran (Stratford’s Front Page), almost take over the whole show. Or at least draw us in more than I remember from the Broadway show. Their tender connection, and the way they “...Love the Way” they see the world of art, poetry, and one another is more grounding than I remember those parts to be, gifting the whole show with a fleshed-out emotional engagement that enhances the entirety. Somehow, in the hands of director/choreographer Feore and within the company, this Something Rotten! has created one of the finest ensembles I have seen in a long time, rising not only the Bottom brothers to the top, but everyone else as well.

“I love it, I love it,” says the happy Shylock, played deliciously smart and funny by Steve Ross (Stratford’s Love’s Labour’s Lost) [who I can not wait to see starring in tonight’s La Cage Aux Folles]. And we can’t help but join in with that loving, joyful refrain, as this whip-smart 2015 musical comedy plays it big and funny with all the Shakespearean names and places thrown at us with such pleasing delight. It just feels so right having this musical play its farcical jokes here, because, in general, these are the historic ingredients that have made Stratford Festival world-renowned. It’s pure unadulterated joy watching this production deliver world-class entertainment with an endless supply of laughs and spectacular song-and-dance numbers, one that I would happily return to again and again. Here’s to hoping this production finds a life beyond the Stratford Festival. Because these Bottom brothers have certainly found their way to be on top of that silly scene-stealin’ Shakespeare. Rightfully so.