Whether you like musicals or not, nobody can deny the work that people put in to make the play what they envisioned. On April 3-5 and 10-12, the Royal Players performed the musical “Something Rotten” from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Something Rotten is about two brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, who want to become successful playwrights during the Renaissance. Nick, out of ideas, goes to a soothsayer to learn about Shakespeare’s next big play so that he could copy it. However, instead of creating the play Hamlet they mistake it for Omelette. This self-aware comedy is full of references to other musicals as well as emotions between characters as Nick’s future success gets to his head.
The director, Ms. Suzy Jeffords said this about her favorite parts of preparing for the musical, “The costumes were really fun this year, because there were so many different costumes, and the choreography, and I think the lighting. It’s just a really fun musical.” About her favorite scene, she said, “I love ‘Will Power’, when Shakespeare has his rock concert, and it’s just a really fun song and all the kids love it, and I loved it and it turned out really well.”
Junior Jazlynn Stanley, who played Bea Bottom, Nick Bottom’s wife, said, “I definitely love going into different characteristics of my character.” She described Bea as “bubbly, but she’s so woman-empowering, a feminist, ahead of her time, but she loves love and she loves to love on people and make sure they’re taken care of.”
Overall, the play was found as funny, leaving the audience laughing with every joke. It was modernized, but still managed to feel like it was taking place in the Renaissance with the costuming and the sets. Everyone seemed like they were putting a lot of effort into their roles, and each managed to steal the spotlight whenever they spoke.
