Something Rotten! – The English Theatre, Frankfurt

Matt Beveridge in Something Rotten! at The English Theatre, Frankfurt. Picture: Martin Kaufhold

Something Rotten! at The English Theatre, Frankfurt.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

English Theatre Frankfurt’s very smart choice this year is to present not only the German but the European premiere of Something Rotten!, something of an endangered species, a totally original musical not based on a book or famous movie, with a new score as well, by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, and a very clever book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. 

This trio has since hopped on the bandwagon of movie adaptations with Mrs Doubtfire, which struggled on Broadway during the pandemic but is now a hit in the West End, whereas their first Broadway effort, despite 10 Tony nominations and a Best Actor win for Christian Borle and a respectable run of 742 performances, has yet to jump over the pond. 

Often described as a cross between Monty Ponthy and Shakespeare in Love, Something Rotten! does have something in common with Spamalot, as well as Mel Brooks’ The Producers, meaning there are frequent Broadway jokes and references, except they are less obvious here and the title of the show my make for a harder sale! 

Just as with another very British-themed musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, which won the Tony for Best Musical in 2014, it’s hard to understand why Something Rotten!, dealing with Shakespeare, hasn’t been staged in the UK. In fact, a British premiere was scheduled at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre during lockdown, and rumour has it that it will happen at the venue next season. However, this quintessentially British-American musical can now be seen in Frankfurt for the first time with an English cast and creatives, and what a cast at that. 

Matt Beveridge magnificently walks into the shoes of Borle as Shakespeare, and the equally excellent Greg Miller Burns into those of Brian d’Arcy James as Nick Bottom, with Sami Kedar playing his brother Nigel. Bradley Adams, doubling as resident director, is a less campy but equally efficient Brother Jeremiah as Brooks Ashmanskas’ player on Broadway. 

Adams trained at Arts Ed, as were many other cast members, such as Rachael Archer as Bea, Bethany Amber-Wilde as Viola, and the show-stopping Briana Kelly as Portia. The whole supporting cast is equally topnotch, particularly Tom Watson as a hilarious Nostradamus. 

Director/choreographer Ewan Jones has done a terrific job here, as he did last year in Frankfurt with Sister Act, She Loves Me at the Sheffield Crucible, and Ragtime at the Charing Cross Theatre. Stewart J Charlesworth’s sets and costumes are also particularly innovative and Broadway/West End calibre, as is the work of lighting designer Jamie Platt and musical director Mal Hall, now resident at the English Theatre Frankfurt. 

The outstanding production numbers are many, but ‘A Musical’, with its numerous Broadway allusions, is really the highlight of Act I, as is ‘Make an Omelette’ in Act II, without forgetting ‘Welcome to the Renaissance’, one of the best opening numbers of the last two decades. 

Let’s pray that the English Theatre will find a new location or will be allowed to stay by the management for the building, as it is an institution not only for locals but for musical lovers traveling to Germany, allowing them to enjoy first rate productions of not always obvious choices of Broadway musicals in English. 

Unlike in Hamlet (the musical was originally meant to be Shakespeare’s Omelette), you certainly won’t say you have seen something rotten! 

Patrick Honoré