Review by Jeanne Kinley Deller:
Frivolity! Foolishness! Fanfare! All the aforementioned in abundance for those 5th Avenue Theatre-goers who partake of “Something Rotten!“ It’s easy to understand why this outrageous play about the “world’s first musical,” directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, earned 10 Tony Award Nominations, including Best Musical.
The loud, boisterous, enormously talented cast members had command of the stage and the audience from the start with “Welcome to the Renaissance.” The most outstanding crowd pleaser, “A Musical,” delivered hilarious tidbits of song and dance from a plethora of musicals we theatre goers know and love. For those Shakespearean buffs in the audience, references to the Bard’s works, throughout, delightedly added yet another layer of insight and sophisticated humor.
The dynamic Bottom brothers, played by Rob McClure and Josh Grisetti, delivered with tremendous strength and vocal range. Nostradamus, played by Blake Hammond, stole the show repeatedly with his wry humor and wacky predictions of all things musical to come in Renaissance theatre. Don’t miss this show, on now through October 1 at The 5th Avenue Theatre. Tickets here and check out the video on The 5th Avenue Theatre’s website.
Photos by Jeremy Daniel