A love letter to musical theater: ‘Something Rotten’ toys with Shakespeare at Florida Studio Theatre

You might have thought that musical theater grew out of 19th-century traditions of opera and operetta, but the musical “Something Rotten” suggests that the art form’s origins actually go back even further.

The Broadway hit that opens Florida Studio Theatre’s new mainstage season is set in the Renaissance, where two playwriting brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, are struggling to get attention for their work while the world is fawning over William Shakespeare, who is treated like a rock star.

“God I hate Shakespeare,” Nick sings in one early number. “I just don’t get it, how a mediocre actor from a measly little town is suddenly the brightest jewel in England’s Royal Crown.” Nigel is more of a fan.

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But the Bottoms might wind up on top when Nostradamus predicts they will have great success by creating the world’s first musical comedy, with singing and dancing that will leave audiences cheering. He just gets some of the details wrong, which adds the humor.

“The show is basically a love letter to musical theater, and when it’s making fun of it, it’s doing it with love,” said Ellie Mooney, an actress, choreographer and director who is staging the production. “And the audience gets the jokes. There’s really not another piece that quite compares with this.”

That love is in clear focus in the song “A Musical,” in which Nick initially rejects the soothsayer’s advice as insanity. “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?,” he asks.

The people watching the song develop might disagree with him.

The show about writing brothers was written by two real ones, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, who crafted the music and lyrics, with Karey Kirkpatrick writing the book with John O’Farrell. The three collaborators also teamed up on the more recent Broadway musical version of “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

Most of the cast is new to Florida Studio, including Cordell Cole, who plays Nick, and Cornelius Davis, who plays Nigel, who is more of a fan of Shakespeare. The cast also includes Kraig Swartz as Nostradamus. Swartz played Miss Tracy Mills in the theater’s spring production of “The Legend of Georgia McBride.” Charlie Tingen plays Shakespeare, Jillian Louis appears as Nick’s wife, Bea, and Elena Ramos Pascullo appears as Nigel’s potential love interest, Portia.

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Coincidentally, Cole, who plays the Shakespeare-hating Nick, has spent about half of his career performing in plays by the Bard of Avon.

“I don’t know if it’s informed me yet, but I love the irony to it,” said Cole just a few days into rehearsals. “The first lines I speak are from ’Richard II.’ So much of this play is written in verse, but it’s fun to hate on Shakespeare a little bit.”

Actors break a mold in their roles

To the theater’s knowledge, Cole and Davis are the first actors of color to play the Bottom brothers, who have been performed primarily by white actors since the show opened on Broadway in 2015.

Mooney said she and the cast were still exploring how much, if at all, the actors’ race will factor into how the roles are played.

“We’re still finding a lot of our through lines. We want it to be different from what was done before and not because of who is playing what roles,” she said, adding that the creative team chose the best actors available.

“We were searching for people to play enormous roles,” she said. “They both have to climb Mount Everest in this piece and we wanted people who had the right spark, comedy, agility and open heart.”

Cornelius said they won’t be playing the characters “a certain way because of our race. Being who we are, telling this story will bring more humanity to the whole in the theater,” he said. “We can see the story told by two Asian men or two Black men. At the end of the day, it’s still a story about humanity and love.”

Throughout the show, Mooney and associate choreographer and dance captain BillyD Hart are finding musical theater references to bring into the staging and movement. “Things that are so famous they are known by people who have never seen those shows. They have become a part of the fabric of our lives,” she said.

Cole and Davis play brothers who are extremely close and write well together, even if they have different attitudes about the competition. But they disagree from the start about Nigel’s idea for a musical called “Omelette.”

Davis said the opening number, “Welcome to the Renaissance,” sets a tone for “welcoming everyone into this world, getting them to understand the time period and all the inventions and how artistically fulfilling that time ways.”

The production features a scenic design by sisters Isabel A. Curley-Clay and Morriah Curley-Clay, costumes by Aubrey Hess and musical direction by Minhui Lee, who previous served as music director for “The Wanders” and “Laughing Matter (Variant 6).”

‘Something Rotten”

Music and lyrics by Wayne Kilpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. Directed by Ellie Mooney. Runs Nov. 9-Jan. 1 in Florida Studio Theatre’s Gompertz Theatre, 1265 First St., Sarasota. $29-$49. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: “Something Rotten” salutes musical theater at Florida Studio Theatre