By: Eleni King Martin

As the snow melts and the sun comes out, so does the McCaskey Theatre Department! The highly-anticipated annual spring musical is right around the corner, and this year, our students will be performing Something Rotten. Approximately five months after closing night of Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors and one year after the Apollo Award-winning musical, The Wedding Singer, Something Rotten will take the stage in the JP McCaskey auditorium. 

Last year, the McCaskey theatre department had a successful evening at the Hershey Theatre Apollo Awards. The Hershey Theatre Apollo Awards are a high school version of the Tony’s, and they are an enormous deal to our cast and crew. One year ago, at the Awards, our theatre department was nominated for six award categories for The Wedding Singer. In the end, we took home awards in every single category we were nominated for, including Outstanding Musical and Outstanding Dance Number. This year, Ms. Wolanin, the musical director, says that she’s hoping to secure wins in the same categories; Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Dance Number, Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress, Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress, and Outstanding Featured Performer. 

As for this year’s musical, Something Rotten is an “egg-cellently” hilarious, witty, tap-dancing musical that takes place during the European Renaissance. The show follows two brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, who are trying to create a new form of art, the Musical! However, the two brothers face troubles as William Shakespeare rules over the theatre scene. The Bottom brothers write a musical about omelettes, and it blows up to become world-famous, even more so than Shakespeare. With clever references to the Renaissance Era and Shakespearean literature, Something Rotten is a captivating musical centering on ambition, family, and romance. 

When asked how to describe McCaskey’s version of the musical, stage manager Senior Zayd Mattar, said that Something Rotten is “the biggest production we’ve put on.” Ms. Wolanin shares similar sentiments, saying that Something Rotten is an “all around much bigger show” than what the theatre department is used to. 

Another senior in the cast, Lydia Corvino, who won an Apollo Award for Outstanding Featured Performer in The Wedding Singer, says that the cast is adapting to each other’s characters with “natural chemistry” and are creating a “fun and silly on-stage dynamic.” This production of Something Rotten will certainly be entertaining, and will definitely be worth a watch. 

Choreographer Ms. Hall says that Something Rotten is a perfect tribute to the theatre world. Something Rotten has references to all the best musicals, including but not limited to A Chorus Line, Chicago, The Sound of Music, and Evita. Ms. Hall says, “Something Rotten does a really good job of bringing all these iconic moments from the theatre world together into one musical. It has moments that are silly and fun, but it also has moments that are heartwarming and valuable.” 

So, if you love theatre, Shakespeare, dance, or anything in between, you will love Something Rotten. To support our theatre students, come to some of their shows! Opening night is March 19 at 7pm, show nights include March 20 and 21 at 7pm, and closing night is a matinee performance at 2pm. Tickets are $10 for community members and $7 for students. We hope to see you at JPM Something Rotten in the near future!

Click here to buy tickets: https://cur8.com/15286/project/135860