‘Something Rotten!’ – Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell; Music and Lyrics by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick; Directed by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz;Music Direction by Katya Stanislavskaya; Choreography by Christopher Shin; Scenic Design by Cameron McEachern; Lighting Design by Bretton Reis; Sound Design by Alex Berg; Costume Design by Chloe Moore. Presented by Lyric Stage Boston, 140 Clarendon St., Boston, through June 7.
By Mike Hoban
As turmoil at home and abroad dominates the headlines and haunts our daily lives, Lyric Stage has delivered a much-needed blast of comic and musical relief with its exuberantly joyful, season-ending production of Something Rotten!. The Broadway musical, which debuted in 2015, features a cast led by Boston theater veterans, buoyed by a bevy of young talent. Something Rotten! is the right play at the right time for Boston theatergoers in these dire times.
Unlike the plethora of beloved movies lazily transformed into lousy musicals (Back to the Future: The Musical, anyone?) Something Rotten! is a true original, even if it does seem to draw inspiration from The Producers and Monty Python. The premise is clever: Brothers Nick (Ryan Mardesich) and Nigel (Ohad Ashkenazi) Bottom’s 16th-century theater troupe is in need of a hit play. Unfortunately, they’re competing with the Bard himself, William Shakespeare (Jared Troilo), who has attained Taylor Swift/Beyonce/Timothy Chalamet-level celebrity status, and he’s coming off yet another triumph with Richard the Second. Nick is the lead actor and the entrepreneurial “brains” of the troupe, while his introverted but vastly more talented brother Nigel is a promising playwright with a knack for brilliant sonnets.
To compound Nick’s dilemma, his wife Bea (the effervescent Kristian Espiritu) is pregnant and working to support him through a series of degrading jobs. In desperation, Nick seeks out the help of a soothsayer to find out which play Shakespeare will be most remembered for − so that he can steal the idea before the Bard churns it out. He finds the soothsayer, fittingly named Nostradamus (a brilliant Joy Clark), but not the legendary seer; it’s actually his nephew, the perpetually inebriated Thomas. The soothsayer foretells that musicals (which he comically describes as a play where “an actor is saying his lines, and out of nowhere, just starts singing”) are the future of theater, and out of options, Nick and Nigel set to work on the new medium. Their bumbling efforts, fueled by the soothsayer’s misguided visions (including an early effort that recalls Springtime for Hitler), along with the send-up of the fragile ego of cultural icon Shakespeare, serve as comic vehicles for an excellent score.
The Lyric production blasts right out of the gate with the high-octane opening number, “Welcome to the Renaissance”, energetically led by Boston Conservatory at Berklee (BOCO) student Indijhan Richard as Minstrel. The musical numbers are supremely clever lyrically (and importantly, easily understood), highlighted by the evening’s standout, “A Musical,” where Nostradamus tries to explain the foreign concept of the genre to Nick (“Does it advance the plot?” “No.” “Does it build character?” “Not necessarily!” “Then why do it?” “Because! It’s entertaining!!“, Nostradamus gleefully exclaims).before exploding into a full-blown tap and turn-turn-kick-turn extravaganza. It’s also loaded with references to Broadway’s biggest hits, from Cats to The Sound of Music, and half the fun is seeing how many you can catch.
The big splashy numbers are well-executed throughout by the ensemble under the guidance of director Ilana Ransom Toeplitz and choreographer Christopher Shin. The tender duet, “I Love the Way,” by nerdy lovers Nigel and Portia (a terrific Lauren Dodds), the daughter of the Lindsey Graham-esque Puritanical Brother Jeremiah (a maniacally over-the-top but very funny Kenneth Kelleher), provides a genuinely touching counterpoint to the raucous production. The jokes in the show’s book come fast and furious, but many fell oddly flat during the press opening, which is surprising given the comic brilliance of the script. Hopefully, the cast will find its comedic rhythm as the show goes on.
The performances, from the leads to the ensemble players, are first-rate, and Mardesich, as the conniving Nick, and Ashkenazi, as his sweetly geeky genius brother Nigel, are solid anchors for the show. But what elevates this production to its marvelous heights are the performances of Clark and Troilo. Clark has emerged as a local musical theater star in recent years, as anyone who saw her in Lyric’s 2024 The Drowsy Chaperone or Moonbox Productions’ 2023 Sweeney Todd can attest. Her portrayal of the drunken Nostradamus is comic genius, as she completely inhabits the character. Troilo, Boston theater’s hunky go-to leading man of choice for over a decade, embraces his inner comic as the preening, egotistical-but-insecure Shakespeare with unbounded glee. It’s a whole other gear for the talented actor, who apparently unleashed his inner comic in last year’s insanely funny Dentist in Greater Boston Stages’ Little Shop of Horrors.
Something Rotten! delivers pure joy, and it’s something we could all use a little bit more of. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.lyricstage.com/production/something-rotten/
