Something Rotten Previews — Page 7

Exactly. There was less chance then this. Even if people aren't Monty Python fans, a very large portion of people have heard of them.

Someone said there was 15.95 tickets for today's performance too, but every time I try to find them, it says no tickets available for the whole performance. Would I need to go to the box office?

Saw the show at first preview, and it was utterly delightful. I was in the second row of the balcony, and I didn't find the view horrible, although I understand them not wanting to use the balcony in the future since it puts the audience at a somewhat awkward angle, and you cannot always see what happens at the back of the stage. But this show. Wow. Went with my parents and two friends who love broadway, and all of them loved it! They have a few spots to work on still, but for a first preview I was seriously, seriously impressed. The Musical song is hysterical, well deserving of the standing ovation it got. Christian Borle is also perfectly cast in this, I couldn't stop laughing during many of his scenes. Do not miss this show!

Saw the 2nd preview tonight! I've been excited for this show for quite awhile now... and I wasn't disappointed! It is absolutely hilarious throughout. I was smiling most of the time, similarly to how I reacted when I saw The Book of Mormon (Must be a Casey Nicholaw thing). Very much what someone would think about when they think about a Broadway musical. I think the other shows this season are going to have a tough battle against this.

Firstly, the set is gorgeous. I love how it's not quite realistic. Very accurate to the time, but there's a cartoony quality to it. I think that really fits in with the style of the show. I think they have a Tony nom coming in this category. I don't think it should win, it was great, but not super impressive compared to many other sets I've seen. There was a moment where a wall made a very loud and squeaky lurch forward. A part of it fell off a few moments later. The wall clearly had a lot of styrofoam material because the scrapping against the other wall caused some of it to be shaved off and littered the stage a little. I was a little worried that the whole thing might fall down, but it remained in place and was safely taken off at the end of the scene.

Once the show starts, if you're a musical theatre fan, you're immediately greeted by the art you love. So many references to classic shows the entire show. The numbers are joyful and melodic. I found myself not staying completely still while they were singing and dancing, I was tapping my feet and bobbing my head. Just some really fun music.

The sound design needs a lot of work. The blending of the ensemble is terrible. You can barely understand them when they're all singing. And they're all singing the same words, it should be easier. They weren't singing different lyrics. I don't understand how a sound designer could let there name appear with such poor output.

Like many have said already. Act 1 is stronger than Act 2. I don't think by much. The women need a lot of work. Not the acting, but the depth and quality of their characters wasn't where it should be. I think it can be achieved with book work. They're songs are fine, but would hit better if we knew them more and cared about their characters in a genuine way, not because I know I should.

*SPOILER* I also think the stakes would be higher and the conflict stronger if Nick wasn't such a bad writer. If he and his brother were both strong writers and just kept getting overshadowed by Shakespeare, then I'd be more invested in their success and Shakespeare would be more justified in trying to steal their work. Again this is book work that's needed. *END SPOILER*

A few of the songs fell flat. I just didn't care about them. "Lovely Love" needs some serious work. I understand why it's in the show, but it doesn't hit like I think it's intended to. I only clapped because I clap at the end of songs like most people. I didn't care for "To Thine Own Self". It needs a major reworking. "Something Rotten" felt like it was going to be a good number, but it was never allowed to reach its full potential. It's a terribly short song. I wanted more of it. I was okay with "It's Eggs" being a 'bad' song, because it's the first musical theatre song ever, but I think "Make an Omelette" needs to be a genuinely amazing number. Even if it's ridiculous. I still wanted that pay off. Even if a musical about omelettes is terrible, that spark of genius still needs to be there. And like another poster said, the ending doesn't quite have the button it needs. I loved the show so I gave it a standing ovation, but most shows that I've stood for have pulled me out of my seat because the finale is amazing. This finale didn't. I needed more pay off.

I hate saying this, but it needs to be said. John Cariani should not have been cast in this show. His acting is terrific, but his singing is so unpleasant to the ears that his acting couldn't make up for it. And I didn't feel like he brought anything so special to the role that his lack of singing ability could be forgiven. I'm sure there are many other fine actors out there that can act this role just as well, if not better, and sing it well. He was constantly off pitch, swallowed by other singers, or just plain not fun to listen to. Maybe it was an off day for him, but this is the only thing I have ever seen him in, and I would advise him to stick to straight plays or take some serious voice lessons.

Casey Nicholaw is pure genius once again. The choreography is just amazing. I don't think he'll win for it this year because of On the Town and An American in Paris, but I loved it nonetheless. It just looked so fun! The cast looked like they were having the time of their lives on that stage. He sure knows how to make you happy.

This show definitely would have benefited from the out of town tryout that was cancelled, but I think they have enough time to bring it up to a place where it will be a great piece of art. I advise people to go see it. You'll have fun, even with the problems it has at the moment.

*Little fun tidbit. I don't know if they incorporated a lot of new props recently or not, but cast members were constantly dropping things and having to pick them up before they became a problem. Feathers, cups, and omelettes everywhere!!!!!

Updated On: 3/25/15 at 12:21 AM

My prediction is that Something Rotten is poised to be Broadways next smash hit. I have faith that the 2nd act will tighten up over the preview process.

Casey Nicholaw displays his midas touch once again with this one. The cast is exceptional, and the material very strong and FUNNY! I enjoyed Something Rotten far more than I did The Book of Mormon.

Rooting for this one! I had an awesome time.

Today's performance is the last one with $15.95 tickets, if they are still available.

I was at last night's preview and I thought it was a good show, very fun with a wonderful cast. I thought it was in great shape for only the second preview, except that the Bottoms' house almost fell apart (although they are struggling playwrights, so it was a realistic touch). I imagine the show will get very good reviews, and probably do fairly well come awards season. I actually think Borle has a fairly good shot at a second Tony for this. (ETA: that's assuming he and Cerveris won't both be Featured, but if they are, I think Cerveris will and should win.)

That being said, I wish it was smarter. I felt like the show landed jokes that we shouldn't need to rely on in 2015. For the most part, I felt like the musical references were well-done, but I understand that it can be hard to find the right balance with a show and humor like this. It could feel a little too insider-y, which a lot of last night's audience ate up. I think selling the $15.95 tickets was a great way to get an excited audience full of theater fans, but my friend and I were stuck between an obnoxious laugher (whose laughter before punchlines actually caused me to miss some), and someone who yelled "werk!" every so often. I enjoyed the show a lot, but I admit my enthusiasm was tampered by sitting by theater fans who were so excited and self-congratulatory about getting all of the references being made.

I hope the show does well, and I actually would like to see it after opening, with a slightly less vocal crowd, although another friend reminded me that a poorly-behave crowd is VERY Shakespeare's Globe. But, if this actually takes the Best Musical Tony over Fun Home, I would be extremely baffled and annoyed.

---

Updated On: 3/25/15 at 08:57 AM

I was so nervous when the roof of the house came loose! I couldn't relax for the entire scene. The ensemble was flawless in keeping the scenes flowing when slight problems like that occurred.

It's totally a musical fan's show, full of references and callbacks and "A Musical" is the epitome of that. I came in with high expectations and wasn't disappointed.

As always, there's tightening and clarity to be done (as everyone else has noted, Act II is an overall weaker act) but I was smiling too often to care that much.

Also, I thought the funniest joke in the whole show was when Nostradamus said the prince's uncle was named Scar.

And I LOVED the tap dance battle between Brian d'Arcy James and Christian Borle in the Act 1 finale. Something Rotten is nowhere near as good as Hamilton, but I definitely understand why d'Arcy James left Hamilton for Something Rotten, and I can't say I fault him for the decision.

---

Who is the target audience for this? I mean I am eager to see it but I have a couple of friends (in their 60's) coming from Europe in May and I am trying to decide what shows to get them tickets for. They are pretty game for most things...

I was at the performance last night and glad to say that the show (mostly) lived up to the hype. This was especially satisfying after seeing HAND TO GOD and hating it.

To echo what most people have said, Act 1 is exponentially better than Act 2. I think this can be fixed with a little bit of cutting and rearranging. I think the main issue is that once Shakespeare is introduced into the story it begins to drag and the second act just isn't as funny. I can't decide what needs to be done with the characterization of Shakespeare but the first thing is losing the accent. It makes zero sense to me that he is the only person speaking with a British accent and the only thing is does it make you think of Mr. Darling.

The actors are pretty much all on the top of their game with the exception of Nigel/Portia. I think that John Cariani is adorable and acts the part well but his singing is most definitely not up to par with the rest of the cast. Kate Reinders is decent as Portia but she is basically Chenoweth-lite. It was no surprise when I looked at the Playbill and saw she was in WICKED. Maybe a dark wig or something would make the comparison a little less obvious. Because of these factors I felt like any time these two had a love song together it basically caused the show to come to a grinding halt. The Puritan number was good but seemed a little superfluous.

In terms of the comedy and who the show is for, I think that's tricky. There were obviously the bevy of theatre in-jokes so you've got the theatre queens covered. While I think a lot of the comedy landed well, I must say that there were WAY too many "bottom" jokes. They became very monotonous and unfunny after the first three and there were about 50 of them. This is definitely not MORMON vulgarity but it's not kid-friendly.

My other slight quibble is just the amount of tap dancing in the show. Obviously it's played to good effect in "A Musical" but by the time it's brought out again in Act 2 you're pretty much over it.

For a writing team's first foray into musical theatre, I think the Kirkpatricks come off extremely well. "Welcome to the Renaissance/America" will probably be stuck in my head for days, if not weeks. There are plenty of memorable tunes but that one surpasses them all.

I'm very much looking forward to revisiting the show once it's frozen and hopefully the creative team is able to tighten everything up and make the surprise hit of the season.

---

After second preview, I found commonalities between Rotten and the Producers:
St. James Theater
Brad Oscar
Similar unforgettably funny line:
"Don't be stupid, be a smarty. Come and join the Nazi party."
"Don't be a penis; Shakespeare's a genius."

I loved the show despite failing to hear some lines.
Can the show's sound design be easily fixed?
Was my seat location, front Mezz D 22 part of the problem?

I am returning to the show tonight with friends.
Should I suggest they get infra red hearing devices?

With 'a musical' they may have their biggest marketing asset. It will play very well at the tonys, and anyother live broadcast. Even if they don't win they could really sell a lot of tickets off the back of that song.

I'd also say 'I hate shakespere' could play well for promotion