It’s… a… musical! A Mus-i-cal! Theatreworks Live is doing an amazing musical! With song and dance and sweet romance and happy endings by happenstance! They’re giving you bright lights— stage fights— and a razzle-dazzle ensemble…oop! Nothing rhymes with ensemble! But it’s still… a… musical! Yes! A Musical! In fact, it’s Something Rotten! on their stage, that’s the musical! That’s right, they’re fancy! And they are bringing you moments of culture and art and a whole lot of talented young performers who just can’t wait to show you all of their singing, dancing, and all that jaaaaazz. Directed by Cathy Koncurat with Musical Direction by Andrew Worthington & Megan Koncurat and Choreography by Karly Sturgeon and Amelia Grace Watts, this fun-loving, free-wheeling product-of-its-time-feeling— muuu-siii-caaal is just what the world of Harford County ordered to kickstart their summer!

Eight is the new six! (Because that’s how many people are on Set Designer, gosh darn it!) Led by Right-Hand Man Technical Director, Mark Koncurat, the set design team (Greg Watt, Tim Rhudy, Matt Eberhardt, Becci Wendler, Dan O’Hara, Katie Weeks, and Karisa Sikora) create a rolling Globe that is just glorious to behold. Koncurat and crew put the iconic panels of The Globe Theatre on wheels and make them a sliding feature to replicate both the roundness of that particular landmark and to allow for ease of transition; it’s pretty brilliant all things considered and it actually works superbly for when they have to cut-away into the hovel that is the Bottom Household or into Shakespeare’s magical tent out in the park, or the playhouse in which the Troupe rehearses. Koncurat enhances the scenery with the background scrim having projections of scenic augmentation, though the most fun use of that projection screen space is during “Make An Omelette”; you’ll watch the animations and start to giggle, which primes you for all of the tomfoolery happening on the stage.

If you want to talk razzle-dazzle from an aesthetic standpoint, feast your eyes on Kelly Koncurat’s sartorial selection! On their outstanding outfits! On their— costumes, okay, we’re talking costumes here! Koncurat has masterfully bedecked the ensemble out to look like a living, breathing Renaissance Faire. They do a stupendous job of giving everyone their own flare-worthy couture style look in the opening number— that blue affair featured on the Minstrel character with the shiny-bright red and gold ribbon loop puff sleeves,  the orange doublet on Nigel, and the rainbow-shimmer jerkin for Brother Jerimiah are personal favorites! Koncurat utilizes a sleek almost modern look for the Spearettes (Shakespeare’s backup dancers) giving them this vibe of Beyonce’s Backup Dancers meets Men-In-Black and it slays. The fitted, tailored look on these all-black outfits are as fierce as the dance moves that populate their respective numbers. But the highest of praises that Koncurat can receive is not for all their amazing period appropriate garb but it’s the creative ingenuity that goes into “Something Rotten” and “Make An Omelette.” Yes, both egg and Omelette costumes are clever (and resilient as they hold strong through the whole dance number despite being whopped by that STUNNING jumbo whisk— mad shoutout to Becci Wendler who has made this exquisite pool-noodle-based prop and I am here for it!) but where Koncurat really radiates is in their ‘Broadway references.’ How many can you catch during “Something Rotten?” Because there’s at least half a dozen, if not more, with my personal two favorites being The Lion King and obviously Phantom of the Opera; Koncurat has put glitter-gold-yolk around the eye of the mask in that number and its epic!

As Thomas Nostradamus will tell you— DANCE BREAKS ARE A THING! And they don’t even advance the plot! But that’s why we love them, right? And for this production you’ve got not one— not three— but two— count them, two— choreographers— Karly Sturgeon as primary and Amelia Grace Watts as assistant. Watts, who puts her signature stamp on “Will Power” with a lot of iconic, gently recycled moves from previous musical theatre endeavors; this is a brilliant nod to the self-awareness of Something Rotten! as its basically squeezing as many musical references into itself as possible; Watts is following suits and you can clearly catch moves from Legally Blonde, Footloose, and Rent all layered into that routine, making it pop extra powerfully. Sturgeon handles a lot of the other routines and you get high-octane movements, tons of slide-swings and a whole bunch of tap routines, including some of those scintillating Broadway-style trenches. There’s also a whole bunch of kick lines, pinwheels, and that one moment where the Spearettes and Will are doing the lean-back-backwards shuffle slide; it’s unhinged! Sturgeon and Watts work their magic with these young performers and the result is enthusiastic and well-executed dance routines that keep the party energy up with great consistency all throughout the production. And both Sturgeon and Watts should be praised for teaching these young performers a critical technique— how to soft-silent step-walk on their tap shoes when they’re wearing their taps but its not yet time to dance! It’s a noticeable talent that these two have clearly drilled into the performers and its much appreciated!

Musically the show is a blast. Andrew Worthington and Megan Koncurat tag-team the vocal efforts and the result is amazing. You get big, full sounds for all of these ensemble numbers, great, brilliant blends for some of the lesser-populated numbers, and the solos are all worked over with due diligence. This show has a big ensemble vibe, despite having numerous lead players, and Worthing and Koncurat manage to achieve vocal brilliance from all 34 performers and it’s awesome! (Shoutout to tech crew who keeps those mics well balanced so that we can hear the soloists when they’re singing their songs!)

Director Cathy Koncurat is giving these young performers ample opportunities to shine, to be themselves, and create their characters, particularly within the ensemble. You’ve got a whole ensemble of outside of the ‘named ten’ and it’s wild to watch them all doing their own individual thing. Three of my favorites that come immediately to mind are in ‘The Troupe.’ Benjamin Feldt, playing Troupe-Snug (if you’re of a Bard-Shakespearean mindset, you’ll see that all the troupe members are actually The Rude Mechanicals from Midsummer!) and when they start flopping around on the floor like a fish, it’s hysterical. Feldt actually starts their character’s existence on the floor and they just catch the attention every step of the way. Same can be said for Aaron Johnson, who plays Troupe Robin Starveling, and commits wholeheartedly to wearing that French-Farthingale (again, props to Kelly Koncurat on costumes!) and living it up as the youngest lad who gets all the gal parts per the times. And then there’s Troupe Horatio, played by Kei Cassidy-Stewart. This one has got the ear-piercing shriek that would wake Jacob Marley from the grave. Hyper animated and popping out of scenes in a humorous fashion, Cassidy-Stewart gets props for adding a personal favorite reference “Everything is Legal in New Jersey” because clearly, they are not throwing away their shot!

The Troupe as a whole features Aaron Johnson, Andrew Lorandeau, Benjamin Feldt, Hailey Luong, Kei Cassidy-Stewart, and Shawn Preisinger. This half-dozen young performers does exceptionally well navigating the volatile dynamic between Nick and Nigel Bottom as they all long to support Nigel but also wish to stay employed. Watching them attempt “The Black Death” is an uproarious hoot though they find beautiful grace in delivering “To Thine Own Self Be True” (the OG-setting of this number) alongside Nigel. They all make the appropriate background noises and gestures and actions when a scene is occurring around them; just enough so that you understand they are there without them pulling focus from the scene itself.

And then there’s the Eggsemble. (Many of whom double up as peasants milling about in the opening number and several of whom appear in those frocked-collars for the puritan group that sings “We See te Light.” Featuring Alex Colon, Alex Moskos, Arianna Garcia Ortiz, Emily Eberhardt, Gracyn Zeiler, Jasir Ebron, Lizzy Fink, Lyssa Haynes, Michael Henthorne, and Tobin Shoul, this bunch of zesty performers really drives the energy behind “Welcome to The Renaissance” and of course their feature number “Make an Omelette”, wherein you get to watch a delicious scramble of chaos unfolding all over the stage.

Hoofing it through a myriad of dance routines and to great success are our stunning, sparkling, razzling-dazzling Spearettes— Anna Perry, Chloe Clifton, Emmalea Sheckells, Gianna Norton, Julie Alban, Mara Weeks, Sarajane Roarty, and Zoe Sikora. The hardest working dance-corps in the gods’ almighty world! Not only are they living their best lives as Beyonce-esque backup dancers with a hardcore Men-In-Black aesthetic, but they are providing all of the moves to THE William Shakespeare, giving him that extra pump of pizazz and panache. Perry, Clifton, Sheckells, Norton, Alban, Weeks, Roarty, and Sikora (joined by Mary Kate Bowden) get some serious tap moves under their belts in “It’s A Musical” and that’s before they are debuted as ‘Spearettes’; I’m out of breath watching how intensely they execute all that choreography. Each one of them has a sassy attitude, often hidden behind black sunglasses, and they are serving up some Shakespearean dance-realness; it’s pretty intense, really impressive, and makes for a thoroughly enjoyable experience, especially when they hit the kick line.

Our aforementioned tap-joiner, Mary Kate Bowden, takes up the mantel— and the lyre (see? She’s a lyre and a player) of the role of The Minstrel and gives the audience its first introduction to the show as well as welcomes them back from the intermission. Vocally powerful, Bowden is filled with ease when she sings “Welcome to the Renaissance” just letting her natural range glide all around the score, letting her facial expressions do the inviting. She’s got animated eyes that really enthuse the audience when that song hits its reprise at the top of Act II. See if you can’t catch Bowden tucked away in other sections of the performance, she’s very entertaining.

If you want to talk vocal affectations, let’s talk accents— right here in Bel Air City— they’ve got ‘em! Accents that carry with a t, which rhymes with c, and that stands for cool! Lady Clapham (Lily Weeks) and Shylock (Lincoln Olsen) both do a smashing job with these. Though Lady Clapham is featured to a somewhat lesser degree than Shylock, Weeks makes her moments in the spotlight memorable, particularly with that pinched attitude and haughty delivery when fussing at Nick Bottom. Olsen, as Shylock, has less of an accent and more of a vocal affectation that plays up like a caricature-stereotype but it works well within the confines of the show. He’s got a keen sense of timing as well, and his line delivery is spot-on.

Something Rotten! definitely has soothsayers, or at least one soothsayer, but what they failed to mention is that they have a spiritualist-medium in their midst— Finn Shramek, who’s playing Brother Jeremiah. Because whatever it is he’s doing with that outrageous vocal affected choice he’s making as the Puritan is giving late-Alan Rickman vibes mingled with hints of a whole host of other deceased celebrities and its hysterical. Shramek’s character is written to be over-the-top and Shramek delivers, all the more so during “We See The Light” where he gets his dance-shake groove and singing skills on display for all to enjoy.

Star-crossed lovers— Portia (Izzie Parrish) and Nigel (Alphan Nthuo.) Who’ve seen Romeo & Juliet six-seven times (actually I think it’s 14 total between the two of them. And about triple that for me, personally, but it’s fine. I’m not bitter. Or counting.) and are desperate to not have their love-story end in that way. Parrish is this delicate delight, tumbling into the meet-cute dynamic with that gooey-eyed ingenue energy that every Portia needs to ready to hand, and by golly gosh, she’s got it. How do you solve a problem like their harmonies in “I Love the Way?” You take the glorious vocal skillset of these two (under the gentle guidance of Worthington and M. Koncurat) and you let their feelings alight upon the music in a simple and pure fashion. Honestly, Parrish and Nthuo have the most revoltingly twitterpated chemistry. They’re disgustingly besotted with fervent PG-Disney-grade lurve for one another, all demure and innocent— makes you want to gag as much as Nick gags over hearing everybody love Shakespeare. Parrish has a gentle voice that’s perfect for her two duets, particularly the way her soft soprano traipses through “I Love the Way” like she’s tiptoeing through a field of fine English heather. Parrish also understands the nuance of dramatic pause, taking that breath at the end before flipping her delivery on Brother Jerimiah.

Nthuo is sheer inspired brilliance on stage. His acting capabilities are boundless and one can only hope he works his way to stages far and wide as he ages his way onward and upward out of the TheatreWorks Live program. There is this perpetual buzz about him— a frenetic discomfort that really explodes from deep within whenever Nthuo’s Nigel is having a moment of self-doubt, anxiety, or uncertainty, which is essentially every step of the journey in this show. He’s physically invested, has a great understanding of how to let his emotional expressions roll through the entirety of his body and face, not just a look or a gesture here and there. And he’s got a beautiful voice which just breezes through “Nigel’s Theme” and “To Thine Own Self Be True.” The way he lets the character idolize Nick, right up until the point when he stands up for his own heart is truly impressive and it makes you want to see where this young actor is going with his talents in future productions.

Brassy and gutsy, Abigail Nahla tackles the role of Bea with rigorous aplomb. The character of Bea often feels almost tertiary to the plot times (shame on John O’Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick) but Nahla has an excellent way of reminding the audience and her fellow performers just how important of a character Bea truly is. She’s only given one big musical number, and its carefully crafted reprise, to show the world what she’s made of and Nahla absolutely takes advantage of every second of both of those numbers; this girl is not throwing away her shot! Her vocals are strong and well-polished for “Right Hand Man”, giving off bossy but laced-with-love vibes at her deeply misguided, though well-intended husband, Nick (Viktor Wilson.) And when she slips her way through the reprise, there are maternal instincts that gently seep out into the song, cajoling and comforting her dear brother-in-law Nigel in that moment. Of course its her moments ‘in-the-beard’ that really bring forth the chuckles and you’ll have to see if you can spot all of those.

Playing the somewhat full-of-himself Nick Bottom, Viktor Wilson has a masterfully expressive face, particularly when it comes to ‘resting rage face’ and given his propensity to hating Shakespeare, that pops up a lot in this production. Wilson has a fulsome voice that carries well for all the singing that Nick does and he really lets that character’s insecurities rule and reign though in a very different fashion from Nigel. Whereas Nthuo’s insecurities are often manifested in physical vibrations, Wilson holds statue-still and growls a lot, both with his voice and facial expressions; same emotional experience, vastly different modes of expression. “God, I Hate Shakespeare” is one of his finest moments, particularly when he’s barking his way through all of those rapid-paced words, still managing to wholly capture the emotional irritation that Nick is experiencing. His clapback to Nostradamus (Cameron Bray) during “It’s a Musical” is exceptionally well timed and you get to see his sincerity in play during “To Thine Own Self Be True (Reprise)” making for a wholly well-versed performance from Wilson.

My back hurts just looking at the stalwart consistency with which Cameron Bray settles into the physicality of Nostradamus. There’s a perpetual lean-to hunch and a crouch in the knees like she might crunch down, spring up into the air, and possibly take flight at any moment. It’s a bold physical choice for the character, making Nostradamus even less grounded in sane reality and it absolutely slaps. Bray balances the vocal affectation too, so you get the comedic edge of having a crazy-soothsayer with a funny voice without distorting or dissolving any of her dialogue. And by golly does this one have vocals and energy for miles; bouncing, dancing, swinging all around through “It’s a Musical” and creeping into various other scenes with the epitome of comedic timing, Bray is an all round impressive performer. Watch her pop in “Something Rotten/Make An Omelette” as ‘Phantom’ and try not to bust a gut laughing. Bray understands the nuance of comedy, how to articulate and project, and just makes for a fantastic batty-old-soothsayer.

It’s hard being the Bard but hot-dang if Jonah Wade isn’t giving Christian Borle and Adam Pascal runs for their money! First of all— ACCENT. Wade’s got it. And solidly too. And not just solidly but firm-handedly as in it transfers effortless from singing to speaking and back again. And there are miles and miles of confidence that Wade is carrying in this confidence; his cocky arrogance and intentional self-assured-smugness could stretch all the way from The Warehouse on E Street straight across the pond to Stratford Upon Avon; he’s got that much charisma, chutzpah, and cheeky charm! Wade has dance skills that have every person falling and fainting over themselves on stage and he’s unafraid to strut his stuff both in “Will Power” and later in “Hard to be The Bard.” And even if he wasn’t slide-locking-hip-and-pelvis-popping all over the stage, you’d be hypnotized by his magnetically enchanting vocals that just scream rocker-tenor with panache. Flaunting, strutting, and owning every breath of oxygen in the atmosphere, Jonah Wade is rooster of the flock and really brings Shakespeare to zesty, vivacious life; it’s a significantly stunning performance.

So please don’t hate Shakespeare— no seriously, you might just love Shakespeare— and the rest of the Something Rotten! gang over at Theatreworks Live; they’ve really got a show— heck, I’ll go for it as we’ve already crammed at least three Hamilton and a Hadestown reference in here— but they’ve got magic to do, just for you! So ease on down, ease on down the road and see their delightful, delicious, de-lovely show! After all, it’s— a— musical!

Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes with one intermission

Something Rotten! Theatreworks Live through June 6^th 2026 in The Warehouse at E-Street— 2113 Columbia Park Drive STE 4A, Edgewood MD, 21040. Tickets are available for purchase in advance online.