‘Something Rotten’ is at Columbia High School

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — When the Columbia High School theater and music teachers met with the senior drama students last summer to choose this year’s musical, there was one show at the top of both of their wish lists: “Something Rotten.”

The musical comedy set in 1595 the chronicles the rivalry between William Shakespeare and the Bottom brothers as they try to find success in the world of theater. The show is opening its two weekend run Friday, March 10, and audiences are in for a renaissance-themed treat.

“It’s a big homage to theater,” Director Bethany Pettigrew said. “It’s really funny and very heartwarming. We need to laugh right now as a community and culture, and it’s very silly.”

Following the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, as they attempt to write a play and upstage Shakespeare, the preeminent theatrical rock star of the 1590s, “Something Rotten” opened on Broadway in 2015 and ran for two years. Some of the production’s original cast members visited Columbia and gave advice. A handful of the CHS cast had seen the show when it was in its original run.

“It’s probably the most fun show I’ve ever been a part of,” said senior Quincy Hampton, who is playing Nick Bottom. “I don’t think there’s anything like it. We had to do it, it was a must.”

Hampton was actually cast as Nick in an abbreviated version of the show as part of a community theater production, but the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 shut the show down. He’s enjoyed the chance to play around with the improvisation the show allows for.

“It flew by, we started three months ago and now we’re about to start,” Hampton said. “I’m excited to have people come and see what we’ve been doing. When you’re in front of an audience things change every time and people do new things every night. It’s amazing to see castmates do that.”

“Something Rotten” requires the most elaborate set design and costumes a CHS production has had in recent memory, especially in comparison to last year’s “Newsies” backdrop and wardrobe. There are a lot of layers and wigs, and the cast members have gotten good at making quick changes backstage between songs.
“This is the most extravagant show we’ve done, costume wise,” said Naomi Stefens, a senior playing Bea Bottom. “Everything has patterns and multiple pieces and wigs. There are a lot of layers.”

Set pieces from past shows are often painted or repurposed, according to Pettigrew. There are columns and doors from “Newsies” that will be making their appearance again on the CHS stage. The crew repaints and refits pieces to match the current show as well as the space where it’s being performed.

“We’ve learned how to use the space, which is quirky and old,” Pettigrew said.
Owen Umiker, who is playing Shakespeare, wasn’t familiar with “Something Rotten” until it was announced as this year’s musical. He listened to the soundtrack while sitting on a beach last summer and grew more and more eager to perform it as he listened, especially his character’s big songs: “Will Power” and “Hard to Be the Bard.”

“The music was incredible,” the senior said. “I got really excited to do all of Shakespeare’s parts. The character is a complete diva, and it’s nice to be able to improv and do what I want with it.”

Umiker, Stefens and Hampton are all part of a group that has been involved in theater the whole time they have spent at CHS; this will be their last production on that stage.

“It’s weird to think about,” Umiker said. “I haven’t spent a ton of time thinking about it, but it’s emotional when I do, because, wow, this will be the last show. I’m happy I got to do this for four years.”

Stefens joked that she is going out with a bang, because as Nick’s wife Bea Bottom, this is the first time she’s gotten the chance to play a woman character. In the past, she was always cast in what is typically a boys’ part.

“I played so many children or old men,” she said. “It’s fun to be able to explore my upper register. I’d been so used to singing lower parts, but once I figured it out it was smooth sailing.”

The production of a musical is a marathon; rehearsals started in mid-December. But the cast members said there have been good vibes all around. They really like being onstage and performing together.

“I love being able to go out there and do something that I’m really confident about,” Stefens said. “We’re able to do something we love with people we love and perform for people we love. I get to perform onstage one last time with my friends. That means a lot to me.”

The shows are Fridays, March 10 and 17, and Saturdays, March 11 and 18, at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays, March 12 and 19, at 2 p.m.