A daffy and fun ‘Something Rotten’ opens new season at Florida Studio Theatre

The lively and clever “Something Rotten,” which opens Florida Studio Theatre’s new mainstage season, manages to simultaneously celebrate and poke fun at the joys of musical theater and the brilliance of William Shakespeare.

You don’t have to know much about history, Shakespeare or anything more than the greatest hits of Broadway to get the jokes packed into the sprightly score by brothers Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, and the script by Wayne Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. They offer a view of Renaissance life with modern references tossed in to make it all seem more relatable. In the scene-setting opening number – “Welcome to the Renaissance” – the cast sings of merry minstrels “who stroll the streets of London a strummin’ their lutes in puffy pants and pointy leather boots.”

And they present a preening Shakespeare who is treated like a rock star (think of the swagger of Mick Jagger), with fawning fans who quiver at his every word when he does readings that become the first Shakespeare in the Park.

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The story is about two playwriting brothers who are struggling emotionally and financially to compete and survive in the world of Shakespeare. Nigel Bottom (Cornelius Davis), is a Shakespeare fan and possibly his equal as a poet, while his older brother, Nick (Cordell Cole) is determined to find a way to top the Bard of Avon.

Nick consults an off-kilter soothsayer to find out what Shakespeare’s greatest play might be so he can write it first. The frazzled Nostradamus, played by Kraig Swartz in a way to make you believe his body might explode from all his visions, gets a few things wrong, like mistaking images of a prince, ham and danish as ingredients for a play called “Omelette.” Something surely is rotten in his soothsaying abilities.

But in one glorious number called “A Musical,” he conjures up all that we have come to know as musical comedy centuries before the art form began. With the support of a small but talented ensemble, Nostradamus tries to convince a disbelieving Nick that audiences will be flocking one day to shows with singing cats or a fiddler on the roof.

This vibrant number makes reference to more than a dozen popular shows – from “Pippin” to “South Pacific” – with just a few melodic or lyrical references and on-point choreography of poses and moves that are instantly recognizable.

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As daffy and delightful as the show can be, “Something Rotten” also has heart in the relationship between Cormelius Davis as Nigel and Cordell Cole as Nick, who face major roadblocks and a potential divide on their way toward creating that first musical. Cole also has a wonderful rapport with the strong-voiced Jillian Louis as his gung-ho and supportive wife, Bea, who is eager to join the workforce no matter how dirty the job. Nigel also finds romance with Portia (Elena Ramos Pascullo), the daughter of a campy Puritan preacher (played in an intentionally broad style by James Patterson), who disdains anything that brings pleasure.

Charlie Tingen plays Shakespeare with long, flowing hair and cocky smirks as he conveys the pressure he feels to keep his public wanting more. He is not above theft.

The story also reveals the efforts of creative artists to please patrons, like the often displeased Lord Clapham played by Jahir L. Hipps. David Cantor is terrific as Shylock, a Jewish money lender who speaks in common Yiddish phrases as he expresses his love for the theater.

The production is directed and choreographed by Ellie Mooney with spirit and energy. It is necessarily smaller and more intimate than what audiences first saw on Broadway in 2015, but it fits just right into FST’s Gompertz Theatre.

And it looks terrific with the original Tony Award-nominated costume designs by Gregg Barnes, and a scenic design by the sisters Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay that makes good use of the space while suggesting the Renaissance era.

The songs are pleasant if not deep as humor is emphasized more than emotions. But they keep you laughing and smiling along with the performers who create a welcome atmosphere of fun and frolic to kick off a new season.

‘Something Rotten”

Music and lyrics by Wayne Kilpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. Directed by Ellie Mooney. Reviewed Nov. 17. Through Jan. 1. Florida Studio Theatre’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St., Sarasota. $29-$49. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Florida Studio Theatre show pokes fun at musicals with clever jabs