Something Rotten!

About the show

The Minstrel welcomes everyone ("Welcome to the Renaissance"). Nick Bottom runs a theatre troupe with his brother Nigel. They are rehearsing their upcoming play, Richard II, when Lord Clapham, a patron of the troupe, announces that Shakespeare is doing Richard II. The news outrages Nick, as Shakespeare has already done Richard III, and the thought of going backwards seems absurd to him. Lord Clapham tells the brothers he is stopping their funds unless they have another play by the next morning, sending Nick into a rant: "God, I Hate Shakespeare". On the way home, Nick encounters Shylock the Jew who wants to help fund the troupe, but Nick rejects this as it is illegal to employ a Jew. Nick and his wife Bea are saving for a better life, and when Nick tries to open the Money Box, Bea pulls it away, instead offering to help them by working, but Nick is adamant ("Right Hand Man"). Despite Nick's arguments, Bea goes out to do jobs that Nick claims are for men. Nick reveals that he hates Shakespeare because he is jealous of Shakespeare's success ("God, I Hate Shakespeare" (reprise)). He seeks a way to top Shakespeare and steals from the Money Box to see a soothsayer named Thomas Nostradamus (the nephew of Nostradamus). Nick asks him what the next big thing in theatre will be, and Nostradamus says that it will be "a musical", where the speaking stops, and the story is told through songs. Nick finds this ridiculous but quickly warms up to the idea ("A Musical"). Nigel has just met Portia, the daughter of Brother Jeremiah, and they immediately fall in love. Nick tells him that he shouldn't pursue her because she is a Puritan. Nick soon tells Nigel about the musical idea but does not tell him about seeing Nostradamus. Nigel wants to musicalize "The Brothers from Cornwall", the story of how they came to England, but Nick says it has to be bigger and decides to adapt the Black Death. The troupe performs a song for Lord Clapham ("The Black Death"). Lord Clapham is disgusted and deserts the troupe, and Brother Jeremiah threatens to have Nick executed if he continues with his work. Nigel tries to write a new play. Portia sneaks out to see him; they discover that they both love poetry ("I Love the Way"). Nigel tells Portia he sent one of his sonnets to Shakespeare for feedback. A messenger arrives with an invitation for Nigel to attend Shakespeare in the Park and an after-party. Nigel takes Portia as his "plus one", and they watch Shakespeare perform ("Will Power"). Bea tells Nick she's pregnant, and he is ecstatic, yet also worried. Shylock also has an invitation to the after-party and tells Nick that Nigel is attending it. Furious at Nigel, Nick goes to the party to tell him off. There, Portia gets drunk, and Shakespeare asks to read Nigel's journal of poems and writings. Nick chastises Shakespeare for trying to steal Nigel's ideas and reprimands Nigel for his naiveté. Brother Jeremiah arrives to find a drunk Portia and once again admonishes Nigel. Desperate and out of options, Nick agrees to let Shylock invest in his play. Nick goes back to Nostradamus with the remaining money from the Money Box to ask what Shakespeare's new hit is going to be. Nostradamus sees Hamlet but misinterprets it as "Omelette" and sees the protagonist eating a danish pastry rather than being a Danish prince. Nick dreams of a future in which crowds cheer for him and Shakespeare bows down to him ("Bottom's Gonna Be on Top"). The Minstrel notes the stresses that the Bottom brothers and Shakespeare face ("Welcome to the Renaissance" (reprise)). Shakespeare laments trying to write hits while managing his fame. A spy tells him that the brothers are trying to steal his upcoming hit. Shakespeare decides to disguise himself as "Toby Belch" and audition for the brothers' troupe to steal the play ("Hard to Be the Bard"). The troupe is rehearsing Omelette: The Musical ("It's Eggs!"). Shylock is their new investor, but they cannot find a title that would make his role legal. Some of the actors wonder why Nostradamus is at their theatre; Nick says that he is an actor. "Toby Belch" arrives and is hired. Shakespeare is surprised to learn that his next hit is supposed to be about eggs. Nigel sneaks out to London Bridge to see Portia and reads her another poem about his love for her. Portia says that everyone will change their minds about their relationship when they hear Nigel's beautiful sonnets ("We See the Light"). Nigel is not happy with Omelette, believing it won't work. Brother Jeremiah interrupts the lovers and imprisons Portia in a tower for disobeying. Saddened, Nigel is inspired to write a different play that is revealed to be Hamlet. At the theatre, Nigel tells Nick about this, and Shakespeare realizes that this is his next hit and takes advantage of Nick and Nigel's argument to get it ("To Thine Own Self"). Nick is having qualms about Omelette as well but dismisses these doubts when he learns the musical is sold out. Shakespeare steals Nigel's hit under the guise of "improving it". Bea tells Nigel that they should trust Nick because they can always call on him if they need him ("Right Hand Man" (reprise)). Nick and the troupe prepare for the show ("Something Rotten!"). It opens with a bombastic dance number filled with references to musicals such as The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera ("Make an Omelette"). Shakespeare removes his disguise and reveals Nick's plot, horrifying Nigel and the troupe. In court, Nick, Nigel, Nostradamus, and Shylock are on trial and are about to be sentenced to beheading. Bea enters disguised as a lawyer and makes Nick confess that he stole from the Money Box; she tells the judge that beheading him would be redundant because he has already lost his head. She has made a deal with Shakespeare that they will be exiled to America ("To Thine Own Self" (reprise)). She says that they always wanted a new country house, and now they are getting a house in a new country. Portia then arrives, having escaped the tower. She renounces her father's ideals and joins the Bottoms in exile. The Bottom Family, Portia, Shylock, Nostradamus and their acting troupe find new opportunities in the New World ("Finale"). When they hear about the opening of Shakespeare's new masterpiece, Hamlet, Nostradamus sighs, "I was this close!"