By LARRY ADAMS
A Seat on the Aisle
“But they’re singing about eggs!”
Absurdist comedies are hard to beat. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Airplane!, Raising Arizona – there’s a reason these are considered classics and stand the test of time. Partly because they’re just plain funny. But partly because, as hard as they are to execute, they’re even harder to conceptualize to begin with.
Authors are advised to “write what you know,” but almost by definition, absurdity is something NO one knows. An absurd premise – one that works, anyway – is therefore hard to come by. Fortunately, Civic Theatre’s latest production, Something Rotten, has got one. It’s ridiculous, it works, and it works well.
At first glance, it’s not hard to see what sparked the creative juices of playwrights Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick. The two brothers, searching for an idea for a successful musical, decided to write about two brothers searching for an idea for a successful musical. The Kirkpatricks went delightfully off the rails from there, however.
Set in 1595 England, Something Rotten follows the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, playwrights struggling for a way to compete with the meteoric rise of their superstar former actor, William Shakespeare. The pair seem well on their way to financial disaster when a discount Nostradamus convinces Nick that something called “musicals” will be the next big thing in theater. Nick, high on both his chance at the brass ring and his jealous hatred of the Bard, then enlists the wannabe soothsayer to steal the idea for Shakespeare’s greatest play, resulting- through a series of unfortunate clairvoyant inaccuracies – in a disastrously lavish musical extravaganza about … breakfast foods. Not surprisingly with that setup, hilarious hijinks ensue.
Despite the silliness – or perhaps because of it – Something Rotten is an ambitious project that demands excellence in nearly every area of theatrical production. Director Michael Lasley has assembled a team that is up to the formidable tasks at hand, delivering an experience that I daresay would match up well to its Broadway counterparts. Production values are high, with a wonderful orchestra as well as remarkably inventive costumes, lighting, sound and set pieces that nevertheless complement rather than distract from the show as a whole. My hat is off in particular to Rick Frendt, whose backdrop projections perfectly (and quite literally) set the scene, comfortably immersing the audience in Elizabethan Times. I would kill, or at least temporarily inconvenience, for such technological capabilities in the smaller theaters around town.
The cast is uniformly excellent. Daniel Wilke as older brother Nick Bottom has the larger of the two male lead roles, ably commanding the stage with both his physical presence and a deft acting touch, as well as a rich – if occasionally pitchy – voice. Jacob Schilling carries the heart of the story as Nick’s younger brother Nigel, a poetic soul finding not only true love but his own artistic voice amidst the clamor of cutthroat theatrical commercialization and celebrity. Nicely complementing Schilling’s portrayal, Civic alum Ellen Vander Missen gives us a sweet and not entirely innocent Portia, Nigel’s Puritan love interest. The two have excellent onstage chemistry, and their beautiful vocal combinations are truly highlights of the production.
Addi Koehler turns in a masterful performance as Nick’s wife, Bea, imbuing her character with both a convincing inner strength and a tender yet open-eyed love for her admittedly flawed husband. Parrish Williams provides a good deal of the show’s laughs as Thomas Nostradamus, an oracle not quite up to his more famous uncle’s reputation. Shining particularly brightly this evening was Michael Krauter as Shakespeare, portrayed here as a preening, egotistical and conniving Renaissance superstar. The role as written is easily the flashiest of the show, and Krauter takes it to the limit without going over the top. His two musical spotlights, the first act’s “Will Power” and the second act opener, “Hard to Be the Bard,” are not to be missed.
A special nod goes out to the richly talented ensemble, empowered by the absolutely inspired choreography of Anne Beck. As one who can barely manage a step touch or a hip dip without dissolving into a blubbering mass of awkwardness on stage, I am continually amazed and mesmerized by dancing done well, and Something Rotten provides this in spades. The plethora of musical numbers are nearly all enhanced by flawlessly performed dance routines in a variety of styles. I am especially a sucker for tap – something served up by “Rotten” in surprisingly large helpings.
Though none of the songs are catchy enough to vie for a hit single – or even to have you humming them on the way home – the music comes fast and furious and does yeoman’s work in carrying along the plot while enhancing the humor. “The Black Death” and Shakespeare’s first star turn, as mentioned above, are notable highlights in the somewhat draggy first act (if I hadn’t given up my wristwatch when I retired, I’m afraid I would have been checking it a few times); but the real showstopper, what it’s all been building to, is the second act’s outrageously over the top production number, “Make an Omelette,” a number chock-full of clairvoyantly derived, anachronistic and laugh-out-loud nods to modern day showtunes. Ridiculous in concept, expertly executed, hilariously costumed – it is the culmination of the evening’s absurdity in a number reminiscent of “Springtime for Hitler,” and is by itself worth the price of admission.
Being me, I do have a couple of nits to pick, of course – mildly annoying, but not enough to derail the overall enjoyment of the show. The first, oddly enough for a comedy, is its sheer number of themes. The writers attempt to cram an inordinate and overwhelming number of messages into their show’s two-plus hour runtime, evidently figuring this is their one big shot. There’s loyalty to family, and finding true love. There’s an entire (and entirely unrelated) side plot concerning gender equality. There are threads on reinvention, risk, ambition, and the dangerous appeal of shortcuts to success. There’s “To thine own self be true,” a theme it repeatedly hits over the audience’s collective head with all the subtlety of a jackhammer. All of these are, admittedly, admirable topics to contemplate, but together somewhat self-diluting and even a little preachy in impact.
The second nit, surprisingly, is the humor itself. Not that Something Rotten doesn’t offer it up – it does, and in abundance. But it often does so a bit clumsily: telegraphed, obvious, and drawn out a beat or so too long, for everyone out there who didn’t get it the first time. Again, not enough to ruin the show, as evidenced by the laughter of the audience this night, but a little unexpected from playwrights with such a great initial concept.
In the end, Something Rotten is a show which doesn’t quite live up to the promise of its spectacularly absurd premise but nevertheless reaches comedic heights high enough to exceed any other show you’re likely to see this year. Add to that the incredibly talented touch of this cast and production staff, and you have an event, nay, experience worthy forsooth of two enthusiastic quill pens up.
Something Rotten continues at the Booth Tarkington Theatre in Carmel through Oct. 18. Tickets can be obtained at this link.
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