It's the 16th century and William Shakespeare is the talk of the town. He dominates the theatre community. A pair of 16th century brothers, playwrights, struggle to find success and seek a way to get their piece of the pie. That leads them to a soothsayer who gives them a sneak peak of the future in entertainment...the musical! That, in short, is 'Something Rotten' which opens this weekend at The Renaissance Theatre in Mansfield.
Those Brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottoms are played by Ryan Citrino and Lukas Chaviano, star in this musical comedy which was written just eight years ago. What you get is a period story, with modern humor and dance moves, that premiered on Broadway in 2015. It earned ten TONY Award nominations. Artistic Director Michael Thomas leads these local performers while Musical Director Kelly Knowlton helps the show hit all the right notes. You see, as the story goes, the future of entertainment, as of 1595, is combining dancing and singing with acting
George Swarn Jr., who played the male lead Harold Hill in 'The Music Man' last season is cast as William Shakespeare. Actor Beau Roberts credited Swarn with bringing a lot of energy to every one of his performances. While 'Something Rotten' takes place in the "Shakespeare era " actor Ryan Citrino said the audience does not need to know a lot about the playwright and his works to enjoy the show.
'Something Rotten' is something special, full of singing, dancing and clever dialogue throughout. A huge tip of the hat to the costume designer Linda Turske and set designer Jason Kauffman without whom this story could not come to life. See Something Rotten March 4th, 5th, 11th and 12th at The Renaissance Theatre in downtown Mansfield. Get tickets at www.rentickets.org. Check out some more photos from Media Night!
-Matt Appleby