The time is Renaissance England, where two brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, are desperate to write a hit play. But how can they when the competition is the biggest star of the era, everyone's favorite bard: William Shakespeare? So they seek out the soothsayer Nostradamus. But not the Nostradamus, his nephew Thomas, who gives our heroes a completely original idea from the future - write a play with songs. And thus, the first ever musical is born. But not without much mayhem, madness, and musical mishaps. There is indeed Something Rotten! - and it will have audiences rolling in the aisles.
...Something Rotten! has established itself as Broadway's funniest, splashiest, slap-happiest musical comedy in at least 400 years...tremendous care and showbiz savvy have gone into making a sophisticatedly silly rom-com that has it all: laugh-out-loud lyrics, catchy music, jaw-dropping sight gags and a powerhouse cast selling Bard-laced punch lines to the ecstatic balcony...the songs...are perfectly placed and deliver an escalating level of zaniness. Director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw...keeps it all spinning dizzily, imbuing the self-referential theatricality with sass and smarts. And what a cast. If you didn't already know what a smashing actor and singer Brian D'Arcy James is...here is a chance to see him carry a show with wit, fire and some impressive tap moves.
Something Rotten! is larded with overripe performances, layer upon layer of schmaltz, and everything in the kitchen sink except a battle of flying cream pies...Something Rotten! hits the target again and again, but as the evening progresses they serve up fewer and fewer bull's eyes...After a dazzling production number midway through the first act...the show loses its freshness...there is no theatre-savvy genius like Bobby Lopez to keep things on musical theatre track...What Something Rotten! does have, to its great benefit, is Nicholaw's sharply-etched comedy blocking, his high-powered musical comedy dancing, and a talented cast of comic actors. D'Arcy James...here displays his outsized comic talents...Cariani...makes a fine counterpart as the poetic Bottom brother...Borle, a superb clown who can chew the scenery with the best of them...makes the most of the smarmy Will (as in 'Will Power'), although the authors have given him more of a sketch than a fully-rounded role.
| 2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 2017 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | Christian Borle |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Brian d'Arcy James |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | John O'Farrell |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Karey Kirkpatrick |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Casey Nicholaw |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Casey Nicholaw |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Christian Borle |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Brad Oscar |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Wayne Kirkpatrick |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lyrics | Karey Kirkpatrick |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical | Something Rotten! |
| 2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Orchestrations | Larry Hochman |
| 2015 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Christian Borle |
| 2015 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Brian d'Arcy James |
| 2015 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Something Rotten! |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Brian d'Arcy James |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Christian Borle |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Something Rotten! |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Casey Nicholaw |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design | Gregg Barnes |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Casey Nicholaw |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | John Cariani |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Heidi Blickenstaff |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design | Jeff Croiter |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Musical | Something Rotten! |
| 2015 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Set Design | Scott Pask |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | Karey Kirkpatrick |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Book of a Musical | John O'Farrell |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Choreography | Casey Nicholaw |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Musical | Gregg Barnes |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Musical | Casey Nicholaw |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Timothy Laczynski |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Kyodo Tokyo Inc. |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Wendy Federman |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Barbara Freitag |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | LAMS Productions |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Winkler/DeSimone |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Kevin McCollum |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Jujamcyn Theaters |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | JAM Theatricals |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Robert Greenblatt |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Dan Markley |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Harris/Karmazin |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Morris Berchard |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Ronald Frankel |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Jerry Frankel |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Mastro/Goodman |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | CMC |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Broadway Global Ventures |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Something Rotten! |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Orchestrations | Larry Hochman |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Karey Kirkpatrick |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre | Wayne Kirkpatrick |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Christian Borle |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical | Brad Oscar |
| 2015 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical | Brian d'Arcy James |
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