Welcome to the Renaissance! Let's talk about one of my favorite musicals! Something Rotten is about two brothers who are trying to write a play that will be the next best thing in England. It takes place during the Renaissance, when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne. The show is hilarious and the music is great. William Shakespeare is portrayed as a leather wearing rock star, which I love. The portrayal of Shakespeare in this musical makes him seem more interesting.
The original Broadway cast:
The original Broadway cast:
Brian d'Arcy James as Nick Bottom
Christian Borle as William Shakespeare
John Cariani as Nigel Bottom
Heidi Blickenstaff as Bea
Brad Oscar as Nostradamus
Kate Reinders as Portia
Brooks Ashmanskas as Brother Jeremiah
Peter Bartlett as Lord Clampham/Judge
Gery Vichi as Shylock
Michael James Scott as the Minstrel
Tracklist:
Act I
1. Welcome to the Renaissance
2. God, I Hate Shakespeare
3. Right Hand Man
4. God, I Hate Shakespeare (Reprise)
5. A Musical
6. The Black Death
7.I Love the Way
8. Will Power
9. Bottom's Gonna Be On Top
Act II
1. Welcome to the Renaissance (Reprise)
2. Hard to Be the Bard
3. It's Eggs!
4. We See the Light
5. To Thine Own Self
6. Right Hand Man (Reprise)
7. Something Rotten!
8. Make an Omelette
9. To Thine Own Self (Reprise)
10. Finale
1. Welcome to the Renaissance (Reprise)
2. Hard to Be the Bard
3. It's Eggs!
4. We See the Light
5. To Thine Own Self
6. Right Hand Man (Reprise)
7. Something Rotten!
8. Make an Omelette
9. To Thine Own Self (Reprise)
10. Finale
I know I didn't mention Something Rotten in my top 10 favorite musicals post but that list changes a lot. And Something Rotten is a musical that I admire and love listening to. I know the whole musical back to front. I memorized all the songs and can do a one man show of it. It's so good. Go listen to it right now, if you have not already.
I first learned Something Rotten was a think following Will Chase's Ham4Ham performance. It intrigued me because he was playing Will Shakespeare, and I never really liked Shakespeare in school, so I thought it was funny. I also fell in love with Will because of that. He played Will on Broadway between Christian Borle and Adam Pascal.
But back to the musical. I never listened to it, until after I learned that Christian is in the OBC cast album. And yes, this is the role he won his second Tony for, with good reason! I deserved a Tony for wearing those tight pants for eight shows a week, alone.Obviously if you read my post about Christian, you know our "history". But I'm glad I listened to the SR cast album because I fell in love with the whole cast.
I knew about Brian d'Arcy James because of Shrek the musical, but everyone else was new to me. I became obsessed with Heidi Blickenstaff, John Cariani, and Kate Reinders. I don't know why. I just love them so much. The show is just so good.
Overall Thoughts:
Favorite Character: Nigel/Bea
Least Favorite Character: The Plague?
Favorite Song: "Hard to Be the Bard"/"The Black Death"/"Right Hand Man"
Least Favorite Song: I don't have one.
Rate out of 10: 9/10
I think that is all I am going to say about Something Rotten for now, but expect posts about my love for Brian, Heidi, John and Kate in the future!
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