Shakespeare Goes Over the Top at NTAC!
Unchecked enthusiasm is not always an asset in musical comedy, despite the genre’s reputation for wholesale peppiness. But in SOMETHING ROTTEN!, the rambunctious new show high on the hill at Newport Theatre Arts Center (directed by singer, actor, teacher, director, and award winning choreographer Miguel Cardenas; “American Idiot,” “The Marvelous Wonderettes”), the eighteen-member cast onstage betrays no signs of flagging.
Clad in what appears to be some very heavy Elizabethan costumes at times, the ensemble members in this Orange County-does-the-Renaissance frolic remain as wired as Adderall-popping sophomores during finals.
The year is 1595 and the English Renaissance is in full flower in Tudor London. In a clever opening number, “Welcome to the Renaissance,” a minstrel and a chorus attired in doublets and farthingales extol the glories of being utterly up-to-date in the 1590s as we are introduced to some of the events and marvels of this wondrous age (War of the Roses, Holy Crusades, Burning Witches, Francis Bacon, John Webster, and of course…The Bard).
It’s that cock-of-the-walk Will Shakespeare (Ramy Alhawari) who has us all in raptures with his leather outfits, gleaming smiles and blockbuster stage hits. He is such a crafty, conceited rock star that no other playwright has a chance — not even Thomas Kyd, whose plays Shakespeare brazenly ransacks for plots. Certainly not brothers and writing partners Nick (TJ Punchard, a charming rogue) and Nigel Bottom (Caden Fraser, an endearing innocent), whose theater troupe will lose their rich patron if the brothers can’t come up with an idea for a play that Shakespeare hasn’t done already.
“If your name is Shakespeare, you’re hotter than hot/But if you’re any other writer, then you’re not.”
Hatched from the fevered brains of the Kirkpatrick brothers, Wayne and Karey, who also wrote the score, with a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, this production basks in the puerile puns, giggly double-entendres, lip-smacking bad taste and goofy parody numbers, procuring 10 Tony Award nominations, winning one.
As far as the story goes, Nick — desperate to avoid going into hock with Shylock (played by delightful moneylender Duke Newcomb) — is in dire straits, raids the nest egg accumulated by his feminist wife, Bea (a precocious Kara Dillard; “This is the ’90s! We’ve got a woman on the throne”), and consults a soothsayer, Thomas Nostradamus (a frothing comic performance from Charlie Massey), to get the advance word on the next big thing in theater.
After a bit of showy melodramatics, the overly farsighted seer predicts it will be…yes, you guessed it — “A Musical.” This number features melodic and choreographic references to pretty much every musical you’ve ever heard of, from “West Side Story” to “Les Misérables,” sending up everything we hold dear about this peculiar art form, from the “jazzy hands” of Bob Fosse to the synchronized line dancing of the Rockettes.
The brothers give it their best shot, but for some reason, their new musical about the Black Death (“that pesty little pestilence is killing half of Europe / It’s the Black Death — mmm-mmm-woo-woo — and it’s coming for you-oo”) doesn’t please their patron, Lord Clapham (Grant Thackray, an amusing blusterer doing his rococo thing). And the pressure is on.
Phallic humor also abounds, starting with the oversized codpiece worn by The Bard. And although that accessory is usually worn by most of the men in many productions, including Nigel (played with rather charming nerdiness by Caden Fraser), that adornment came up short this night (no pun intended).
Although Nigel does still turn around and reach into his nether region as he tells the girl he adores, Naomi Groleau’s Portia, the daughter of disapproving Puritan, Brother Jeremiah, who seems to be prone to inadvertent erection jokes at every conversation (wittily played by Todd Carlson; “Freaky Friday”)... “I have something to show you.” Fortunately, it’s only a sonnet.
“Oh, God, I hate Shakespeare!” rails Nick, in TJ Punchard’s plummy tones of envious contempt. “His plays are wordy,” his musical rant goes on. “He has no sense about the audience, he makes them feel so dumb.” To which Shakespeare’s groupies reply, “Don’t be a penis. The man is a genius.”
The blue-chip cast is phenomenal at every turn, and also includes Seth Weiner, Nick Mestakides, Jennifer Harmon, Kole Yoshi, Madison Becker, Mikayla Thomas-Turner, Ben Applegate, Jonathan Garcia and Victoria Groskreutz in the ensemble.
It’s a deliriously funny musical comedy romp! Definitely classical theatre gone awry, complete with upbeat ditties, tap-dancing duels, encores, reprises, and mountains of ridiculous sight gags, show-stoppers and double entendres that make your whole body ache from laughing.
NEWPORT THEATRE ARTS CENTER PRESENTS, SOMETHING ROTTEN! A VERY NEW MUSICAL; Conceived by WAYNE & KAREY KIRKPATRICK; Book by KAREY KIRKPATRICK & JOHN O’FARRELL; Music & Lyrics by WAYNE KIRKPATRICK & KAREY KIRKPATRICK; Directed by MIGUEL CARDENAS; Assistant Director ZOE-RAVEN WIANECKI; Choreographed by ANTHONY TUASON; Assistant Choreographer DAELYN CERRUTI; Musically Directed by GABRIELLE MALDONADO; Technically Directed by JIM HUFFMAN; Costumes by JENNY WENTWORTH; Wigs by KAT SCOTT; Lighting & Sound by JOSHUA SERRANO; Spots by KOI WEST; Stage Manager LOREN MORRIS.
SOMETHING ROTTEN! Runs from March 14th through April 13th. Performances are 7:30PM and Matinees at 2:00PM. 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach CA. 949-631-0288. For Tickets, see www.natctickets.com
Chris Daniels
Arts & Entertainment Reviewer
The Show Report
Photo Credits: Sarah Whitwell
