Playbill of The Week: Something Rotten

5/53

I can't tell you the last time I laughed this much during a show. I swear I had abs for at least an hour after seeing Something Rotten, the belly laughter was intense. For anyone that knows me, you'll know that when I'm uncomfortable, or trying to be noticed I laugh extremely loudly. Which is a fault of mine, but there is a difference between that laugh, and my genuine uncontrollable laughter from something just being darn funny. Basically the difference comes if there are any sort of tears. And let me tell you, all my makeup came off during this show. And not from sad crying.

I saw SR after it had been open, nominated and won a couple Tony Awards. I'm that really annoying person who tries to see shows before they officially open, but since I had been living in Vancouver getting to New York often became difficult. So when my parents surprised me with a trip for Christmas, Something Rotten went to the top of my list of shows to see. I had been listening to the cast recording non-stop, I knew it inside and out and was obsessed (you'll notice during this series I will say I'm obsessed with almost everything, and it's because I am, not because I'm abusing the word.)But I didn't realize there would be so much more that I would be laughing at. And that is why you need to see the shows, because there is so much that the cast recordings don't give you.

First off, we will just get it out of the way because we all know it's coming. So let's talk about Tony Award winning Christian Borle as William Shakespeare. Let me set the mood a little bit. 1) I had not seen Christian in a show since Peter and The Starcatcher. 2)My seats were second row center orchestra. 3)Leather pants. The show starts with Welcome to The Renaissance, a flashy, fun, colourful tune with beautiful costumes, amazing choreo and witty lyrics. The second the song started my mom turns to me and goes 'this show is awesome' like 20 seconds in, this is a very good sign people. Halfway through the song The Bard himself comes strolling onstage, only to exit right away. We don't actually get another glimpse at him for a while, but when we do holy moly. It's during Will Power and let me tell you, I think I blacked out. A mixture of the leather pants/codpiece, dance moves, vocals and just epic cockiness was so perfect he deserved another Tony. I don't think I've ever been so enthralled by a performance as I was with Christians Shakespeare. It was big and ridiculous, but not over the top. Just enough kitch and ego to make a perfect sultan of sonnets. This man proves why he is so coveted for shows, and why people keep wanting more of him. He takes every role and makes it his own. He adds little touches of himself into the character. I think my favourite thing is that he rarely does any research or back story on his characters, which lets him come at them with complete openness and creative license. He doesn't try to create what you already know about that person, he gives you what the show and written character calls for. And obviously it works cause he's got 2 Tonys. Like I said in my Falsettos post, I could go on and on about him, but I won't because there are some amazing performances in this show that deserve my ramblings.

We're gonna switch over to the always perfect Heidi Blickenstaff. I have been a fan of Heidi's since Title of Show. 'A Way Back To Then' is one of my absolute favourite songs ever. So having Heidi play 'the first feminist' was just a treat to see. She isn't onstage for that long, but when she is she commands and demands your attention. Her gorgeous, beautiful, big voice goes straight into the rafters and just makes you happy. Right Hand Man could have been a 15 minute song and I would have been delighted the entire way through. Heidi is the kind of performer I strive to be. Strong and confident, she knows that what she brings to the stage is special and interesting. She has this effortless sound to her voice. It looks like she isn't even trying. And her belt. That is what dreams are made of. I really wish Bea had more stage time. Maybe another song. A duet with Portia (which I know was cut) or maybe a duet with Nick. Just anything to get her back onstage and singing. We deserve that!

And we cannot talk about Something Rotten and not talk about the BRILLIANT performance from Brian d'Arcy James. Someone should not be allowed to be that talented and have those amazing eyebrows. You get one or the other sir, not both. His Nick Bottom is so commanding on stage. He walks on and your eyes go straight to him, you're drawn to him and his baritone vocal chords, and the brows. He does so much work on that stage. Nick Bottom has so many numbers, so much tap dancing, and so much Shakespeare angst. Brian is a performer that everyone should be studying. His resume is huge and filled with gorgeous pieces of art. He works his butt off to deliver a wonderfully rounded and complete character. I don't ever wanna stop seeing Brian work. He's a master class on stage.

There are so many amazing performances in this show. I'm just going to highlight a few that still float around in my brain. Brooks Ashmanskas. I cannot with his Brother Jeremiah, it was the perfect 'over the top' performance. It was big and loud and just plain hilarious. He didn't even have to do anything and he had me in stitches. I also couldn't keep my eyes off of Marisha Wallace. She gets my favourite ensemble track. The 'dreamgirls omelette', the girl who freaks out over Shakespeare, the hag! Basically anything she did on that stage was scene stealing in the best way. Also Aleks Pevec, Eric Sciotto, Ryan Vandenboom and Bud Weber as the Backup Boys. I don't know if I'm envious because they get to be Shakespeare's backup dancers/singers or if I want them as my backup dancers/singers, or if I just want to be one of them. I don't know they're just perfect.

This show is a Broadway fan's dream. So many hidden lyrics and nods to decades of musicals. If you thought you had identified them all from the CR you are sadly mistaken, because they sneak references into every scene. This show is full of laughter and joy, which is something we need right now. It's hilarious, entertaining, colourful, exciting and really sexy. Gregg Barnes deserves all the awards for his costuming, the leather pants and codpieces are perfection. This show isn't just for theatre people though. It's for anyone that needs a good belly laugh, for anyone that loves classic theatre, for anyone that loves Shakespeare, and for anyone that loves a good tap dance number. Hopefully you'll be able to catch it on its National Tour because it is worth it. It's on my bucket list of shows to do, and truthfully I haven't decided which character I want to play more. Maybe a female Nick Bottom? Who knows!