The Mountain Lakes Theatre Department once again breathed life to the MLHS stage earlier this month with another hit, lighting up the stage (quite literally) with the wonderfully wacky characters, bedazzling musical numbers, and hilariously raunchy humor of the Broadway musical Something Rotten!. Painting a world that just screams “Welcome to the Renaissance,” the show, set in 16th Century England, took countless creative liberties when it came to Renaissance history, portraying the timelessly talented Bard in a way that had audiences thinking “God, I hate Shakespeare!”
Following a successful production week, we wondered how many musical theater and Shakespearean references were caught by audiences, particularly those acquainted with Broadway. In this article, we will break down each and every allusion from two reference-packed scenes, followed by several inside takes from MLHS English teachers on their thoughts about the show.
First, we’ll “look ahead” into the jaw-dropping, sensational number titled “A Musical,” sung by Nostradamus and Nick Bottom. Between kickline dancing, a full tap routine, and giant spark-shooting machines flanking the stage, some theatrical references may have easily slipped past the audience.
The first reference mentioned in the song is from Fascinating Rhythm when Nostradamus starts dancing and feeling that “fascinating rhythm moving to his feet.” Then after a small mention of Seussical and The Music Man, Nick and Nostradamus dress up as sailors which is a nod to South Pacific. After a small moment of music from Chicago and lines from Evita, the song becomes serious and they play famous music from Rent which is followed by the actors cleaning the stage and singing like they are in Annie. After some smaller music references to Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, and Sweet Charity, the actors line up and dance like they are acting in Hello, Dolly!
After some more music from A Chorus Line, dancing from Cats, and music from Sweeney Todd, the actors hide their faces behind paper which is a reference to A Chorus Line. Throughout Something Rotten!, Nostradamus shares even more references from plays such as The Lion King and even The Beatles when he mentions Yoko Ono, a Japanese singer who separated John Lennon from the famous band. However, Nostradamus accidentally mixes up many of these plays. Before the end of Act One, Nostradamus hops out of the pit orchestra, peering into the future again. Once again being slightly incorrect with his visions for the future, Nostradamus refers to Hairspray as “Hair” before mixing up the name for Little Shop of Horrors with a slightly more vulgar title. Finally, he looks and finds Shakespeare’s most famous play, Hamlet, but the bumbling soothsayer mistakes the title to be “Omelette!”
The number of theatrical references does not end with “A Musical,” however. Theatrical allusions, both obvious and niche, are no scarcity in Act Two, especially within the scene preceding “Make an Omelette.” In this comedic scene, Nick Bottom and his company of actors are performing, for the first time ever, what they believe will be their landmark smash-hit masterpiece, “Omelette the Musical.” Largely following the plot of Hamlet (unintentionally), with several interjections from other famous shows, the first reference is shown when Nick Bottom’s character demands his guard to bring him Macavity, the name of the primary antagonist in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats. Soon after, he greets Horatio, a main character in Hamlet. Moments later, the Queen bursts on stage, who is supposedly the protagonist’s mother; however, she is very obviously dressed as the Queen of Hearts from the stage adaptation of Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland. Shakespeare, who is pretending to be an actor in Bottom’s play, plays the role of Scar, Simba’s power hungry uncle from the Disney musical The Lion King, which happens to be loosely inspired by Hamlet.
Later in the scene, Bottom’s character proudly exclaims “Tonight, we will make war with the Puerto Ricans!,” as a reference to the Sharks in Jerome Robbins’ West Side Story. Several lines from Broadway musicals Chicago and A Chorus Line, as well as Nostradamus dressed as the phantom from Phantom of the Opera, numbered among the dozens of references, upholding the musical theme.
Arguably the most important references to grace the MLHS stage during its 2024 production, cherished and applauded by audience after audience, was Shakespeare’s line, “Oh Luck, be a lady tonight,” referencing Sky Masterson’s song of the same name in 1950 Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, a spectacular show that was put on the MLHS stage last year.
Now that we have recognized all of the references in these two scenes, let’s see if some teachers with knowledge about Shakespeare and musicals could catch all of them too.
Exclusive Interviews with Ms. Eklund & Ms. Seibert
What did you think of Something Rotten? What would you rate it out of ten?
- Ms. Eklund gave it a 9 out of 10.
- She thought it was a good musical and the production team did a great job.
- She enjoyed the music, the orchestra, and all of the elements.
- Ms. Seibert gave it an 8 out of 10.
- She thought it was a really smart show.
- She thought it might have been more enjoyable for her than others because she knew more of the references.
After watching Something Rotten!, as an English teacher, did you understand many of the references in the musical? If yes, were they mostly Shakespeare-related?
- Ms. Eklund thought it was more of a maybe.
- She understood more of the musical references than the Shakespeare ones.
- She has taught three Shakespeare plays, so she got many of the references but not all of them.
- Ms. Seibert said definitely!
- She noticed many of the references were about Romeo and Juliet which is a play she knows very well because she teaches it for the 9th grade curriculum.
- She also understood many of the musical references because she enjoys Broadway.
How many high school productions have you seen?
- Ms. Eklund has been to productions in Mountain Lakes and in Randolph.
- She has seen around a dozen productions.
- She understood most of the references because she saw musicals growing up.
- She could appreciate the mocking of Shakespeare because so many teachers praise him and still teach his plays.
- Ms. Seibert has seen around eight MLHS productions.
- Her general knowledge of musicals was why she understood most of the references.
Did that affect your enjoyment of “Something Rotten?”
- Ms. Seibert went to the play with her fiancé who did not understand many of the Shakespeare references but both of them enjoyed the show a lot!
- She noted that she would often be laughing while her fiancé was smiling but definitely not getting the references.
1
0
Average Rating