Welcome to the Renaissance, East Lansing! Without leaving their seats, Wharton Center audiences have traveled across the world and through the decades this season. And now, the Tony Award-nominated musical “Something Rotten!” takes audiences on a journey back to the 90s. Well, the 1590s, that is.
“Something Rotten!” tells the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom, a pair of brothers struggling to write a hit play in the shadow of fan favorite William Shakespeare. Out of desperation, Nick seeks the help of a soothsayer, who predicts that the next big thing in theater will be musicals. What ensues is a fun song and dance through modern musical references and plenty of in-jokes for theater lovers.
With Tony-nominated music and lyrics from brothers Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick and Tony-nominated direction and choreography by Casey Nicholaw, “Something Rotten!” is the distant English cousin of other self-aware musicals from this century, such as “Spamalot” and “The Book of Mormon”; Nicholaw was also Tony-nominated for best choreography for those productions, as well as for co-directing “The Book of Mormon.” Continue reading “Review: ‘Something Rotten!’ is something sweet for theater lovers”