On January 25, a group of students from Abington High School  and the Frolio Middle School went to the Boston Opera House to attend the musical “Something Rotten.” This was a music department trip sponsored by the Abington Education Foundation. Mr. Shannon, from the music department, organized and hosted the trip while Ms. Harrington (Music Department Head), Ms. Clifford, Ms. Pflaumer (AHS English teachers) and Ms. Poirier (AHS art teacher) also attended as chaperones.

Pullquote speaker=”Olivia Sweeney” photo=”” align=”right” background=”on” border=”all” shadow=”on”]Attending the musical in such a large group made the experience so much more enjoyable.[/pullquote]

Around 50 students attended, and as we made our way into Boston, the bus was abuzz with excitement. Attending the musical in such a large group made the experience so much more enjoyable. Everyone was smiling, and taking pictures. It was very delightful for everyone who went.

Set in the Renaissance period, “Something Rotten” is about aspiring play producers struggling to find success while competing with “the Rock Star” William Shakespeare. Nick Bottom (Rob McClure) lives with his wife, Bea (Maggie Lakkis), and his brother Nigel Bottom (Josh Grisetti). The year is 1595 and Nick and Nigel have their own theatre troupe. Nigel writes the scripts while Nick comes up with the ideas for shows. He is jealous and not very fond of Shakespeare. Frustrated, he sees a fortune teller who gives him the idea of producing the very first musical.

Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick wrote the music and lyrics, and Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell wrote the book for “Something Rotten.” The Broadway production was nominated for ten Tony Awards and won for Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Christian Borle as the Bard). It closed its run on January 1 after 742 performances at the St. James theater, and opened its The National Tour in Boston on January 17, only eight days before our visit. The tour is now on its way across the country.

Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, the performance we attended was amazing; it was heartwarming, sad, and hilarious at the same time, and there was never a dull moment.

Greg Barnes’ costumes were so colorful and eye-catching that it was hard to look away. The singing was perfect, and there was not an off-key moment. The entire cast was in sync, and moved together very well. For example, in the very first scene, the cast performed “Welcome to the Renaissance.” Nicholaw’s choreography was perfect. With everyone in-line, it featured all types of dancing including ballet and jazz.

Scott Pask’s set and designs worked nicely for the time-period and complimented every scene. There was an enormous amount of detail. It was evident that a lot of time and hard work went into making them. There were so many colors.

“Something Rotten” was one of the best musicals this writer has seen.