The Freewill Shakespeare Festival continues with ‘Something Rotten!’

After a stunning performance of Much Ado About Nothing, the Freewill Shakespeare Festival continued last week with their production of Something Rotten! Staging the musical was a bit of an experiment for the festival, as it marks the first time they have staged anything that wasn’t written by Shakespeare. Instead, Something Rotten! follows the exasperated writer Nick Bottom (Stephen Allred) as he competes with a pompous William Shakespeare (Brian Christensen) to be the most renowned playwright in Elizabethan England.

Overall, the production brought admirable performances. Despite a rain delay and ever-present mosquitoes, the ensemble shone with energy, gleefully prancing across the stage as they insulted Shakespeare and twirled in sequinned egg costumes. As Shakespeare, Christensen was delightfully arrogant, attacking the role with swagger and humour. Other standouts include Nico Maiorana as Nostradamus, the enthusiastic soothsayer whom Nick goes to for help. Maiorana’s physicality was unmatched. Every time he was hit with a vision, he writhed and twisted, excitedly telling Nick of the future of theatre with limbs flailing.

Amidst the over-the-top characters and egg puns, Eli Yaschuk brought a beautiful heart to the show in Nigel Bottom, Nick’s timid, genius brother and partner-in-writing. While Nick is blinded by hubris and attempts at notoriety, Nigel simply wishes to write from the heart and indulge in the beauty of poetry. Yaschuk brought an earnestness to the character that grounded the show and reminded the audience of the importance of theatre and community. Next to Allred’s Nick, who at times felt a bit stiff and predictable, Yaschuk kept the audience invested with his beautiful vocals and open heart.

Something Rotten! is a great show, jam-packed with theatre jokes, double entendres, and catchy songs. While the script is phenomenal and the cast mostly brought their all, I couldn’t help but feel the setting wasn’t quite right. There’s a reason Shakespeare in the park festivals have remained so prominent over the years. The intimate, outdoor setting lends itself to the simplicity of his plays. In Shakespeare, an elaborate set and spectacle aren’t required, because the script always speaks for itself.

Contrarily, when staging an intricate musical such as Something Rotten!, the tech has to do a bit more heavy lifting. Especially in a show that is parodying the musical genre, a bit more spectacle is expected. The huge musical numbers didn’t quite land when set in front of the same plain set as Much Ado About Nothing. The sound was also a glaring issue throughout the night. Many great performances were undermined by their microphone quality, as the audience strained to hear the lyrics over the heavy rain.

With Something Rotten!, Freewill tried to expand the boundaries of their festival, but fell short. The great aspects of the show, the script and the cast, were affected by the setting and lacking tech. While theatre is an ever-changing landscape, and it is important to continue to try new things, sometimes it’s better to stick with what you know.