When I learned that Rob McClure was starring in the national your of Something Rotten!, I was pleased. This Philadelphia actor/singer was the best thing in the Broadway musical Honeymoon in Vegas and sensational also when he starred in Chaplin. He exceeded my high expectations in the production that opened Tuesday in Philadelphia.
McClure exhibited charisma and panache as the rival of Shakespeare in this excellent musical comedy.
We’re back in the Renaissance where “Our mugs are made of pewter / Our houses all are tudor.” The Bottom brothers are colleagues of Shakespeare in the London theater community. Nigel (Josh Grisetti) admires the Bard and wants to be a poet and playwright too, but is getting nowhere. Nick (McClure), on the other hand, hates Shakespeare: “The way he feigns humility when all he does is gloat / The way he wears that silly frilly collar ‘round his throat.”
Shakespeare is a cocky character, like a rock star, and he’s played effectively by the original co-star of Rent, Adam Pascal. We root, of course, for his rival, the resourceful Nick Bottom who inventively creates a new art form.
In an effort to out-do Shakespeare, Nick consults Nostradamus (Blake Hammond) who looks into the future and foresees the coming of musicals. Nick can’t believe it: “You’re doing a play, got something to say / So you sing it? / It’s absurd / Who on earth is going to sit there while an actor breaks into song?”
Nostradamus explains his idea in the show’s big production number, “A Musical.” The song and dance includes musical and visual gags that refer to Mary Poppins, South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, Phantom of the Opera, Annie, Sweet Charity, Rent, Chorus Line, Pippin, Joseph and more. It’s dazzling.
Casey Nicholaw’s creativity with visual gags is splendid. He directed and choreographed Something Rotten! Gregg Barnes designed the gaudy costumes and scenery. The clever book is by John O’Farrell and the songs are by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick. I’m impressed that songwriting brothers based, respectively, in Hollywood and Nashville, were so able to capture the essence of Broadway.
Nick was originated on Broadway by the excellent Brian d’Arcy James, whom I loved, but McClure is even better. His dancing, singing and acting are all superb. Every word — nay, every syllable — is projected with clarity and personality.
As Nigel, Grisetti is adorable. His eccentric body language, and his profile, are reminiscent of Ray Bolger, and his singing is sweeter. Maggie Lakis, who is McClure’s real-life wife, is spunky as she plays Nick Bottom’s spouse. Autumn Hurlbert beautifully captures a Puritan girl who falls for Nigel. Her persona resembles the young Kristin Chenoweth.
At the end, the Bottoms have to flee England, so they take their creation to — where else? — America.