It’s hard to be the Bard: Music Theatre Wichita presents ‘Something Rotten’
Eric Sciotto was in on “Something Rotten” from the beginning.
The actor who played William Shakespeare, among other roles, in the musical comedy that ran on Broadway from 2015 to 2017 is directing the show for the first time in his return to Music Theatre Wichita.
“I was lucky enough to be in the original cast and be there in the formative process of it all, and watch all the rewrites happen, and so then you end up with a little more information about what the characters are, and can do, even though when it gets pared down to streamline a show, but you have all of that,” said Sciotto, a veteran of the 1996-1997 MTW seasons who returned to choreograph “The Wizard of Oz” in 2022, directing “Rock of Ages” in 2023, and performing both duties in last year’s “9 to 5.”
A 10-time Tony Award nominee, “Something Rotten” is set in 1595 London, where struggling playwrights the Bottom brothers determine that the best competition they can be against their rival Shakespeare is by introducing a new art form called the musical comedy.
“It’s just the greatest people. Doing a great show and being fun and funny. It was a blast, but they were all the masters at their games,” he recalled of the Broadway run. “The idea of it is completely nuts and new, and not like anything else. I felt really lucky to be in something so interesting and new.”
The script and performance are full of Easter eggs and blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em homages to dozens of Broadway stalwarts that even the performers were tracking.
“I wish I had the chart, but we put up poster boards on the wall, and anytime we found another one, we would put it up there. But what’s interesting is it’s all through the writing, it’s all through the lyrics,” he said.
“Then you have it in the musical-like nods. However, then the orchestrator added ones that we didn’t know about, then there’s ones in the choreography, etc. So, by the time we really got well into the run, it was a lot of them. Somebody has made a video based on our Tonys performance that points them out, but they’re not even all there. And then, dare I say that my version has other ones. There are all sorts of choreographic nods and homages that, in a fast process at which I don’t even get a chance to say out loud, but everything in here is from something else.
“And so, it’s just layer upon layer, that’s what I love about this show,” he added. “You don’t have to particularly be savvy in either Shakespeare or musicals to enjoy it, and if you are, it just keeps heightening the experience.”
MTW artistic director Brian J. Marcum said some of the references have a current and local flavor.
“There’s a few things from the shows of the season that have passed, and then some stuff from the shows that are coming up next season, which is really fun,” he said.
Sciotto’s first time directing “Rotten,” although he has choreographed the musical for two previous productions, continues the trend this season of artists with Broadway experience returning to direct those same musicals for MTW.
Many of the cast members interviewed during the first week of rehearsal said they saw the original run on Broadway and wanted to be a part of a production of “Something Rotten.”
“I’ve loved this musical ever since, and it’s been a dream role. It’s been on the bucket list for, I guess, a decade now,” said Chelsey Lynn Alfredo, an MTW alum from 2018’s “Freaky Friday,” who plays the unflappable wife of one of the Bottom brothers. “I was like, yeah, that is something that I see myself doing. Also, it was laugh-out-loud funny — how can I not want to be part of this? It’s so brilliant and genius.
“I wanted to see myself kind of in this character of Bea. I was like, oh, I would love to get the opportunity to do this one day,” she added.
Sam Harvey plays Shakespeare, the role for which Christian Borle won the best featured actor Tony, the only win for “Rotten” that night.
“The second I saw Christian Borle shake his booty, I knew I had to play that role,” said the Nebraska native, who is taking advantage of the director’s experience in the role. “He’s got a million wonderful options for me, so I’m very appreciative of that.”
Eric Coles, who plays Nick Bottom, was in the company of the 2017-18 national tour of “Rotten.”
“Kind of to echo what Eric was saying, they made a few changes for tour that I think they ended up putting into the show in going forward, so that’s what the version we have now,” Coles said.
“And so I got to be in the room and see those changes happen, and see the creation and the recreation, and the recreation, and the new pages, and all the things that changed.”
“Something Rotten” was originally scheduled for MTW in 2020 but was postponed because of the pandemic.
“This is the last one of the ones we wanted to do, but we didn’t get a chance to do it, and we have a really great set that was designed in 2019 by this local phenom, Jordan Slusher, and they started working on it in April, and they just finished it. It’s beautiful. There’s 17 painted drops, hand-painted drops, that have been created for the show,” Marcum said. “It’s really great, and so we’re excited to be able to do it.”
‘SOMETHING ROTTEN’
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, Aug. 20-21; 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 22-23; 2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 23-24; 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24
Where: Century II concert hall, 225 W. Douglas
Tickets: $25-$83, from mtwichita.org, 316-265-3107 or at the Century II box office