The Stratford Festival Review: Shakespeare gets roasted once again in this exuberant crowd-pleaser.
By Ross
It’s always a little stressful when I have a return engagement with a show that I loved with all my heart the first time. A production that dazzled two years ago can sometimes feel diminished on a second encounter, dampened by familiarity or dulled by memory’s tendency to polish every detail into perfection. Walking back into the Festival Theatre for a second date with Stratford’s remount of Something Rotten!, I carried none of that concern for very long. Thankfully, and with a very large sigh of relief, the show remains the complete opposite of its title. Within minutes, Jeremy Carver-James‘s exuberant Minstrel was once again singing a glorious “Welcome to the Renaissance“, and he and the whole show had me laughing and smiling as it did a few years back. Donna Feore‘s effervescent and energetic direction of this hilarious musical comedy had reclaimed the main stage as though it had never left. The jokes still land, the songs still soar, and the sheer delight of its theatrical imagination remains wonderfully intact.
That spectacular durability speaks to the strength of both the material and Stratford‘s sharp production. With a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell and music and lyrics by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, Something Rotten! retains its place on the throne as one of the wittiest musical comedies of the last two decades. The show gleefully imagines Renaissance London as a captivating place where playwrights compete like modern A-list celebrities and where William Shakespeare enjoys the sort of adoration usually reserved for rock stars. The result is a non-stop whirlwind of theatrical references, outrageous predictions, backstage panic, romantic complications, and enough musical theatre jokes to keep even the most seasoned audience members grinning from ear to ear.
Feore’s direction and choreography keep the whole glorious machine hurtling forward at full speed. Every scene moves with confidence and purpose. Every musical number feels carefully calibrated to build momentum, while still leaving room for performers to create memorable individual moments. The Festival Theatre thrust stage proves once again to be the ideal home for this production, allowing Feore’s choreography to spin and spill across the stage with infectious glee and eye-popping energy. What impressed me most on this return visit was how effortlessly everything fits together. For a musical packed with Shakespeare jokes, Broadway references, tap dancing, prophecies, and theatrical chaos, it somehow never loses sight of its story. The spectacle is enormous, the comedy arrives at a relentless pace, and yet the heart of the show remains firmly intact.
That emotional core belongs to the Bottom brothers. Mark Uhre (StratFest’s Annie) remains sensational as Nick Bottom, a man whose ambition and insecurity continually wrestle for control of his better instincts. Uhre understands exactly how to navigate the role’s broad comedy while keeping Nick recognizably human. His rivalry with Shakespeare fuels some of the evening’s biggest laughs, but his concern for his family gives the performance its heart. Henry Firmston provides the perfect counterbalance as Nigel. Earnest, idealistic, and endlessly lovable, Firmston (StratFest’s Spamalot) makes Nigel’s artistic spirit impossible not to root for. Together, these two exceptional performers create a tender and believable sibling relationship that anchors even the show’s most ridiculous turns.
Jeff Lillico once again proves irresistible as Shakespeare, a character impossible to hate. Swaggering through the production with effortless confidence, he turns the celebrated playwright into an absurdly entertaining pop star figure with the proper hot man entourage shielding him at every turn. With an ego that appears to expand every time he enters the stage, Lillico (StratFest’s Forgiveness) expertly understands how much theatrical excess the role requires and delivers it with infectious enthusiasm. His scenes with Uhre crackle with comic energy, transforming their professional rivalry into one of the production’s most reliable sources of laughter.
Equally strong is Starr Domingue (StarFest’s La Cage Aux Folles) as Bea Bottom, the patient and strong, in more ways than one, wife of Nick. Her star performance provides much of the show’s emotional grounding and clever commentary, particularly during “Right Hand Man,” which remains one of the musical’s most engaging and heartfelt numbers. Domingue brings warmth, intelligence, and determination to Bea, ensuring that she never exists merely as a wife to her husband. Her presence delivers a special kind of strength to the entire production and reinforces the show’s underlying belief in modern family, partnership, and community.
The romantic storyline between Nigel and Portia continues to charm and elevate the whole musical. Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane brings sweetness, sincerity, and quiet confidence to Portia, a surprisingly similar role to her Sarah in this season’s Guys and Dolls, except that she is the one diving in with both feet. Firmston’s earnestness makes their connection easy to invest in and adore. Their scenes together provide a welcome counterpoint to the larger comic chaos unfolding elsewhere. Juan Chioran (StarFest’s La Cage Aux Folles) also remains wonderfully entertaining as Brother Jeremiah, Portia’s fiercely protective father, finding plenty of humour in the character’s rigid convictions without ever reducing him to a simple caricature.
But the biggest laughs come straight from Dan Chameroy (StratFest’s The Diviners) having the time of his life playing the wacky and wonderfully crafted Thomas Nostradamus. Equal parts fraud, dreamer, and accidental prophet, Chameroy delivers some of the show’s funniest while expertly navigating the increasingly absurd predictions that drive the plot forward, screaming out “Cats” with the same level of disbelief that we all secretly carry. His scenes retain every bit of their comic brilliance, particularly as the future of musical theatre begins revealing and unraveling itself in increasingly ridiculous ways.
What becomes even more apparent on a return visit is the strength of the ensemble. Stratford’s company structure serves this musical beautifully. Rather than functioning as a collection of individual star turns, the production succeeds because everyone contributes to its joyful spirit. Whether leaping high in a major musical number or delivering a distinct and delicious comic moment, the cast works together with remarkable precision and generosity.
Visually, the production remains a feast. Michael Gianfrancesco‘s set and costume designs create a playful Renaissance world that constantly shifts between historical parody and theatrical fantasy. Bonnie Beecher‘s lighting and Haley Parcher‘s sound design support the production’s enormous scale without ever drawing attention away from the performers. And under Laura Burton‘s musical direction, the score continues to burst with vitality, giving every number tremendous energy and momentum.
Revisiting Something Rotten! offered a welcome opportunity to discover whether my memory had exaggerated its accomplishments. If anything, the opposite proved true. The production remains every bit as funny, inventive, and joyful as I remembered. More importantly, it continues to celebrate the very thing it lovingly satirizes: the communal thrill of live theatre itself. Watching these performers throw themselves so wholeheartedly into this gloriously ridiculous musical, surrounded by an audience laughing together at every joke and reference, felt like stepping back into a place where theatrical happiness flows freely. Returning to the Renaissance has rarely been this rewarding.
