Gettysburg College’s Student Musical Theater group performed “Something Rotten!” on March 29 and 30. (Photo Courtesy of the “Something Rotten!” Cast)
By Leah Nath, Staff Writer
On March 29 and 30, Gettysburg College’s Student Musical Theater group performed “Something Rotten!” in the CUB Ballroom. The musical included a cast of seventeen, along with an additional eleven crew members.
As a completely student-run and performed show, the close-knit community of the group was apparent onstage and off. Audience members were invited to write notes to cast and crew members, congratulating their hard work—an extremely thoughtful touch. Director and actor John Rosenberg ’24 spoke candidly to the audience before the performance began, proclaiming, “…we’ve worked on this for months and really hope you enjoy it!”
“Something Rotten!” is a musical, based on a book by Kary Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, adapted with music and lyrics by Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick. Set in 1595 and opening on Broadway in 2015, the show stars main character Nick Bottom (Logan Sodl ’24), an aspiring writer competing with William Shakespeare (Aiden Ludka ’24) to create the next big stage performance. Nick is surrounded by intensely earnest support, between his wife Bea (Ren Mirenda ’27), his brother Nigel (Evan Hilborn ’25) and his brother’s love interest Portia (Delaney Stahl ’27). Nick and Nigel attempt to write the first-ever musical, with assistance from a seer named Nostradamus (Brant Miller ’27).
Trying to prophesize Shakespeare’s greatest hit, Nostradamus tells Nick to write a musical named “Omelette.” Nigel, inspired by his love for Portia, tries to write a story about love and despair instead, but Nick’s focus on “Omelette” forges distance between the brothers. Despite getting slightly lost in the pressures of his responsibilities, Bea, Nigel and Portia are ultimately able to guide Nick back to a true redemption and a happy ending.
Despite limited resources, the crew managed to create a wide variety of well-developed costumes, interesting lighting for a number of different settings and entertaining props such as dancing skeletons.
Music director Katie Poliero ’25 said, “The crew really gets to know each other as everything culminates in an all-hands-on-deck race to the finish line. I couldn’t be prouder of the whole cast and crew of this show!”
Clad in bright red, Ludka performed Shakespeare as an eclectic mix of Elvis and Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, bringing immense laughter and energy to the stage. His perfect complement, Sodl gave Nick Bottom miles of depth by committing to the character’s happiness, fear and anger in full. Hilborn and Stahl imbued their character’s personalities with endearing passion and acted as the heart of the show. Mirenda, as Nick’s guiding star, played Bea as an incredibly personable and capable woman, standing strong through the ups and downs of the characters’ lives.
Mirenda comments, “The cast and crew are some of my closest friends, so it was a wonderful experience getting to do such a crazy show together.”
The Student Musical Theater group has another upcoming show, “Yawdaorb: Broadway Backwards,” on April 6 at 5 p.m. in the CUB Junction.
The musical included a cast of seventeen, along with an additional eleven crew members. (Photo Courtesy of the “Something Rotten!” Cast)
