Since I began attending so much live theatre one thing I have noticed is that the comedic plays and musicals don’t tend to be as rewatchable as the dramas. I’m not exactly sure why but that sizzle of the first laughs are hard to duplicate. I try to never hold a production responsible for my repeat viewing fatigue but it is still something I’ve noticed. The one exception to this rule is the musical Something Rotten. I have seen it many times by many different companies and it still makes me laugh every time. The latest version (I’m actually seeing it again this week at Murray Arts believe it or not.) is at Hopebox Theatre in Kaysville and it is a rollicking good time.

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Hopebox, of course, stands out because of its wonderful mission of fundraising and supporting a hopebox recipient that has is fighting a cancer battle. What’s always impressive to me, however, about Hopebox is they don’t lean on this mission but they use it as a catalyst to produce great shows. I’m almost never leaving there thinking ‘that’s a great cause but…’ The show and the cause are fantastic and that is certainly the case with Something Rotten.

One of the big standouts in this production is the innovative set. The space is small at Hopebox and the set by Curtis Dalton is able to flip from Renaissance village to a kitchen with ease making transitions very fast. Director Ryan Bruckman has embraced the Broadway legacy of the piece and packed it full of references any musical theatre fan will love. For people less in on the inside theatre jokes there’s plenty of humor in the performances and entertaining tap dancing and other fun choreography.

Something Rotten is a saucy little show so the very strict puritans among us may not appreciate some of the jokes, but I find it very funny. The Shakespeare in the Teal cast I saw is played by Austin Shipp and he brings an aging suave dynamic to the character that’s hilarious. He reminded me of a cocky Tony Bennett or Donny Osmond. (The costumes by Kathy Richmond were excellent especially during the “Make an Omelet” number except Shakespeare’s non-leather pants were a little baggy for the overall look they are going for. The leather was much better) We had Ian Fife as Nick (he’s normally in the Silver cast but I’m so glad I got to see him and was impressed with the chemistry he had with the cast given it’s not his normal cast.) Ian Wellisch is very endearing as Nigel and has terrific chemistry with Kira Dalby as Portia.

I’m not sure if it was just because it was opening night but there were more singing errors than I typically see at Hopebox but they powered through and delivered the jokes with great skill. I don’t require perfection in my musical theatre. Just heart and soul and in this case a lot of laughs and that’s what you will get here. Something Rotten is playing through July 12th and tickets can be purchased here.

Something Rotten has music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick with a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell.

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