Theatre review: Something Rotten! offers light, fun summertime fodder
Triple-threat performer Jyla Robinson stands out as a soothsayer in the Theatre Under the Stars show
Jyla Robinson (left) and Kamyar Pazandeh in Something Rotten!. Photo by Emily Cooper
Theatre Under the Stars presents Something Rotten, alternating with We Will Rock You, at Malkin Bowl to August 27
As part of its 82nd season, Theatre Under the Stars is offering Something Rotten!, a musical that pokes fun at musicals, with references to everything from Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables to West Side Story and South Pacific. There are jazz hands, kicklines, and moments of pure ridiculousness—think dancers dressed as hard-boiled eggs bouncing on mini trampolines. But it’s Jyla Robinson in the role of Nostradamus, a soothsayer, who steals the show with her charisma and physical comedy.
It’s the late 1590s, and brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom (Kamyar Pazandeh and Vicente Sandoval respectively) are desperately trying to come up with an idea for a play to outdo their rival, Shakespeare (Daniel Curalli). Stakes are high for Nick, whose wife, Bea (Katie-Rose Connors) is pregnant. He poo-poohs promising poet Nigel’s idea for a storyline, opting instead to follow the advice of Nostradamus, who doesn’t always get predictions quite right. (It’s not the Nostradamus, but rather the astrologer-seer’s nephew.) To make matters worse for Nigel, he meets the love of his life, Portia (Cassandra Consiglio), only to have her Puritan father, Brother Jeremiah (Matt Ramer), forbid their romance.
Shakespeare, meanwhile, is relishing his rock-star level of success, women swooning and fainting over him, with hits like Romeo and Juliet, Richard II and III, and Titus Andronicus behind him and Hamlet brewing.
Being the Renaissance, it’s illegal to hire Jews or to have women on stage, while homosexuality is a serious crime. There’s plenty of base humour related to erections and sexual preferences in the production directed by Rachel Peake based on the book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, with music and lyrics by Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick.
Those eye-rolling instances aside, Something Rotten! is perfect summer fodder: light, fun, and entertaining. If you’re looking for serious theatre, this is not for you. It’s long, at about two-and-a-half hours. (Dress for mosquitos.) And while it can be over-the-top silly, there are strong performances by triple-threat cast members who can act, sing, and dance. Pazandeh’s vocal chops shine, while Curalli’s Shakespeare has got the moves like Jagger, along with an outfit Michael Jackson would covet. Stephanie Kong’s costumes are gorgeous, especially Lady Clapham’s blazing-orange collared gown; women are dressed in bodices, wide sleeves, and bum rolls under their voluminous skirts.
One thing: Is it just me or does anxious Nigel’s surfer-dude intonation confound? Every sentence ends like a question, lilting upward. The tone is perplexing given that he sounds nothing like Nick, the two brothers hailing from Cornwall, minus the English accents.
Then there is Robinson, with her wide eyes, wild hair, rumbling voice, and fierce physicality; her Nostradamus executes an athletic routine before making big, if off, proclamations about the future and can tap-dance as well as any Rockette. (No wonder; Robinson owns and directs Studio West Dance in Ladner.) At one point, her Nostradamus tries to convince Nick how audiences will one day love it when performers stand in a row and kick in unison. Yup. There's one prediction he got right, the Malkin Bowl crowd eating it up.
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