When my father-in-law asked what we were going to see at Peninsula Community Theatre on Sunday, he was surprised by our answer – “Something Rotten!” 

His reply came swiftly – “how do you know already?”  We laughed as we explained to him it wasn’t a judgment statement, but the name of a musical, set in England during the Renaissance.  “Something Rotten!” tells the story of the Bottom brothers (Nick and Nigel), who fancy themselves playwrights, as they pursue professional success, their passions, love and family, and of course, spar with their famous longtime rival – William Shakespeare himself. 

Nick, played by Andrew Smith (a favorite of ours from his performances in “The Prom” at PCT and in “She Loves Me” at SLT), is the perfect straight man, playing off the comedic performances of the rest of the cast.  Smith’s singing is also spot on throughout the play.  While Nick is desperately searching for an idea for a hit play, Nigel (John Post, who we most recently saw in “Jacob Marley’s A Christmas Carol” at SLT, and already built chemistry with Smith in “She Loves Me”)  prefers to follow his passion – poetry – and, more recently, the beautiful but forbidden Portia.  Post was hilarious, playing Nigel as a bit of a gullible nerd, and had wonderful chemistry with Sofia Jameson Strick’s Portia.  Strick, nominated for an HRACT Award last year for her work in “The Prom” at PCT, was consistently funny as she tried to pull herself out of the shackles of her mother’s restrictions, and when Portia and Nigel hug (yes, hug) for the first time, there were audible “aww’s” from the audience.  Will they kiss?  You’ll have to get tickets to find out.

The casting was really well done in this play by director Marie Miguel, as each member of this troupe nails their role, drawing belly laugh after belly laugh from the audience.  Nick’s wife Bea is trying to make things work monetarily while Nick and Nigel work on their hit play.  This leads her down a massively entertaining sequence of jobs in male-dominated fields, and Kelly Flick does a fantastic job with her comedic timing, but shines the brightest when she belts her songs.  Carrie Grace Morgan seems to have found a niche playing overbearing parents on the wrong side of history after her own role in “The Prom” last year, and she once again pulls it off as Portia’s mom Sister Jeremiah here.  Mark Glickstein fits perfectly as the Bottoms’ patron Lord Clapham, and Brian Wrestler feels like the banker I’d trust with my deposit in his role as Shylock.  And although the Minstrel only shows up to scene-set at the beginning of each act, Natalie Byron does a nice job owning the part with her strong voice.

And we haven’t even gotten into the two most hilarious roles in the play.  First – the celebrity, the playwright you know and love, the one, the only, Will Shakespeare!  This role fits Ronnie Littman like a glove (as does his costume, with leather pants that include an… extra large accessory).  Littman leans into the outwardly confident Shakespeare, but with internal insecurities leading him to constantly play dirty politics to stay ahead of playwright competition. 

And of course, we cannot overlook John Cauthen (a fixture in Hampton Roads community theater, notably receiving an HRACT Award nomination for his role as Mr. Mushnik in “Little Shop of Horrors” at Williamsburg Players) as the seer Nostradamus.  This role was made for him.  It was hilarious, over-acted, and Cauthen was perfect for it.  He popped out at exactly the right moments, timed his comedy well, and felt exactly as crazy and unhinged as he should, and yet still you weren’t sure if Nostradamus was actually seeing the future or faking it entirely.  Cauthen was truly wonderful, and his performance is capped off when he predicts that the future of theater is… wait for it… MUSICALS. 

The ensuing ensemble number – “A Musical” – was perhaps the highlight of the entire show, with everyone getting in on the action, and some very impressive choreography, designed by Kris Wayne.  There is soft shoe, tap, the crowd-pleasing kick line – if you weren’t smiling by the end of this number, you weren’t alive.

Somehow, “Something Rotten!” doesn’t quite live up to its name – a fact pointed out by my father-in-law (who we convinced to come along with us), when he declared as we left the theater “that was wonderful!”  We couldn’t agree more – just a really good time.  PCT has a hit on its hands!