Eggs are top of mind for a lot of people right now. Back in 1595, they were for Nick and Nigel Bottom, too. The Bottom Brothers are playwrights. They’re vying with William Shakespeare for fame and fortune, but the Bard is a rock star. They’re not.
To gain an edge, Nick visits a back alley soothsayer.
“Nick goes to Nostradamus and is like ‘What’s Shakespeare’s next biggest hit?’ He says that it’s 'Omelet,' and not 'Hamlet,'” explains Cultural Park Choreographer Reese Thurmer.
While Thomas Nostradamus may have gotten the title wrong, he got the genre right.
“Nostradamus also tells him that musicals are going to be the next big thing,” Thurmer added.
So the Bottom Brothers produce “Omelet: The Musical.”
“It’s big, flashy fun,” said Thurmer. “There’s a lot of dance numbers. It’s a big tap show, which I think is really exciting for Cultural because we have not done a big tap show, at least in a really long time.”
Then, as now, there were those like Brother Jeremiah who thought that musicals would be the ruin of civilization.
“Brethren, I say unto thee, the theaters are a scourge upon our land, when men dress as women and kiss other men. I have seen it myself and it did stiffen my resolve. For such sinful role play is the gateway to lustful desires and fantasies of the flesh.”
“Something Rotten” is filled with catchy songs, spectacular dance numbers, dozens of Broadway and Shakespearean references and non-stop laughs. Truly, in this musical, the play’s the thing.
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“Something Rotten” takes place during the Renaissance, where the Black Plague has ceded power to the Puritans, farthingales and codpieces are the latest fashion trend, and the biggest celebrity in England is a playwright named William Shakespeare.
In the midst of all this excitement, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are trying to keep their acting company afloat. In a desperate attempt to out-Bard the Bard, Nick consults with a soothsayer, who informs him that the future of theater involves acting, singing, and dancing -- sometimes all at once! As the Bottom brothers strive to write the world’s very first “musical,” they find themselves caught in a bitter battle with the Bard. "Something Rotten!" is a hysterical, joyous celebration of everything you love about Broadway.
The musical opened on Broadway in 2015 and ran for more than 708 performances. Along the way, it snagged 10 Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book. The show has enjoyed several national tours, including runs in England, Germany, Sweden and South Korea.
The play was written by brothers Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick.
The Kirkpatrick brothers packed the production’s show-stopping number, “A Musical,” with references to Broadway musicals.
“You’ll find references to ‘Annie,’ ‘A Chorus Line,’ ‘Rent’ and a ton of familiar shows that you might know,” Thurmer said.
Part of the fun in attending the show is ticking off those references as the song-and-dance number unfolds across the stage. In addition to the three Thurmer mentioned [spoiler alert], there are nods to “Avenue Q,” “The Fantasticks,” “Les Miserables,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” “The Music Man,” “Seussical,” “South Pacific,” “Anything Goes,” “Dames at Sea,” “Chicago,” “Evita,” “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Putting It Together,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Sweet Charity,” “Hello Dolly,” “Cats” and “Sweeney Todd.” In fact, it might be necessary to attend more than one performance in order to catch them all.
There are even more Broadway references in the show’s other musical numbers, such as “Dream Girls” in “Make an Omelette.”
“It’s kind of fun because not every single person knows every single musical, but you’re definitely going to find shows that you’re familiar with,” Thurmer promised.
From a choreography standpoint, Thurmer conceded that her cast’s biggest challenge were the tap numbers.
“I will be completely honest, some in our cast were worried about it, but they’ve done such an impeccable job, exceeding our expectations,” said Thurmer. “I would say that I have 40 tappers now, and when this show started, had you asked them, they would have probably told you I had two. But they’re phenomenal.”
Thurmer said that “Something Rotten” has been a dream to choreograph. “There’s so much that you can work with and so many different styles,” she said.
In addition to putting 40 singers and dancers on the Cultural Park stage, the “Something Rotten” cast ranges in age from 13 to 72.
“This is one of the biggest age ranges we’ve ever had on our stage,” said Thurmer. “But it’s been fun because we’ve turned into one big family.”
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.