By Elijah Moran | TCC Talon Website Editor
In 2015, Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell’s book “Something Rotten!” was brought to life as a humorous musical on Broadway. It was well-received by play-goers, and nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including “Best Musical.”
Visiting New York City in April of that year, Tallahassee Community College Director of Theatre Eva Nielsen saw the show and instantly fell in love with it. Five years later, TCC’s theatre department secured the elusive rights, and after a two-year induced pandemic delay will premiere the show for a Tallahassee audience.
Theatre TCC! will be performing six showings of the musical “Something Rotten!” from April 7-17 at the Turner Auditorium on the Tallahassee Community College campus. Admission is free for TCC students, faculty and staff with a TCC ID. Admission for the general public costs $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7 for children.
Nielsen is thrilled to see her students perform in front of a bigger audience. The musical is the third live production since the pandemic started in March 2020. During the pandemic, performances were livestreamed and were limited to few attendees.
“It takes you through a story of two brothers called the Bottom Brothers, and they are trying to outdo William Shakespeare,” Nielsen said. “It is hysterical… this is the show that we’re really hoping we give the (theatre) students the audience they deserve.”
Earlier last year, Nielsen asked one of her newer students, Gerald Davis, to audition for the show. Davis questioned Nielsen’s thinking, but ended up auditioning and being cast as The Minstrel, who acts as a narrator for the musical.
“Everywhere I turn there’s something new to learn,” Davis said. “And now with everything I’ve learned with theatre and dance together, ‘Something Rotten!’ is the perfect product of my learning experience.”
The production, including a 24-person cast, has multiple large-scale production elements and more costumes than ever before. The theatre department hired a second costume designer to help design 144 hand made costumes, drawing inspiration from the Broadway show and historical research.
One of the 24 cast members, Benjamin Miller, will be playing William Shakespeare. The Tallahassee native and Leon High School graduate has been involved in theatre since he was in middle school.
“He’s a rockstar,” Miller said of his character. “I grew up listening to classic rock; Queen, Led Zeppelin, stuff like that. Now, I get to strut around stage like these guys that I would listen to.”
Miller and his castmates will get their opportunity to strut, alright. According to Playbill, the musical includes 19 scenes full of “big dance numbers, bold costumes, and eye-rolling off-stage antics.”
“Something Rotten!” will be performed at 8 p.m. on April 7-9 and April 15-16, and 2 p.m. on April 17.
Link to Something Rotten! tickets.
https://prod1.agileticketing.net/websales/pages/list.aspx?epguid=ad350b8e-a850-4b3d-bc3e-0b6173c8e654&
