Something Rotten!

There’s no shortage of energy at the St. James Theatre, where the new musical Something Rotten! has danced its way onstage.

Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick’s Renaissance-era musical, which features a book by Karey and John O’Farrell, imagines the birth of itself — a musical.

Packed with puns and double entendres and featuring a top-notch cast of Broadway veterans, Something Rotten! provides an evening of hummable entertainment.

Brian d’Arcy James and John Cariani play the Bottom brothers — Nick and Nigel, and yes, their names are the source of endless jokes. Aspiring playwrights, they fight for the spotlight, which is well and thoroughly occupied by one William Shakespeare (Christian Borle, brilliant as always in portraying the Bard as a preening narcissist). As he informs us in one song, “It’s hard to be the Bard.”

Nick’s patient wife Bea, a feminist before her time (she informs him through song that she’s his “right hand man”), is played by the reliably solid Heidi Blickenstaff, while Nigel’s love interest Portia is portrayed by Kate Reinders.

Desperate to find success, Nick visits Soothsayer Alley where a delightful Brad Oscar informs him that the future of theatre lies in musicals, which is promptly followed by a no-holds-barred, show-stopping song-and-dance number that pays homage to just about every musical in the canon’s history.

Scott Pask’s sets adorn the stage like a Renaissance fair, and Gregg Barnes’ costumes offer no shortage of codpieces and corsets. Something Rotten! offers a whimsical and entertaining love letter for those in the industry.