The play’s the thing for Mecca Productions

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This article was published 23/10/2023 (1066 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some people put Shakespeare on a pedestal, which really gets on the nerves of the lead character in Mecca Productions’ 35th musical.

Cast and crew for “Something Rotten” gathered in the gym of Elton Collegiate on Sunday for their first full dress rehearsal ahead of performances at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium from Nov. 2 through 5.

The musical’s title alludes to both a line in the first act of Hamlet about something being rotten in the state of Denmark and the fact that the audience is going to witness a lovingly skewered version of the bard’s greatest hits.

The story sees Nigel and Nick Bottom desperately trying to figure out the next hit production for their theatre troupe as Nick seethes with jealously over the rock star-like status of his colleague turned rival William Shakespeare.

With the help of friends, family and an off-kilter but energetic soothsayer, they eventually strike up the idea of creating the genre of musical theatre.

One encounter with Shakespeare himself sees the playwright enter the stage greeted by a throng of screaming fans, some of whom faint from excitement as he performs a sampling of his work from atop a platform.

Sunday’s rehearsal saw actors practicing their lines, arranging and rearranging props, getting coached on musical numbers and wearing colourful clothes meant to evoke Renaissance Europe.

While the script is peppered with references to Shakespeare’s works, one of the actors playing Nigel doesn’t think prior knowledge is necessary to enjoy the musical.

“Knowing Shakespeare, there’s a lot of jokes in there,” said Clint McLachlan, who is also performing as the minstrel in some showings.

“But it’s certainly not necessary. There’s tonnes of musical references. There’s tons of physical comedy, well written comedy, great musical numbers … I think a lot of people hear Shakespeare and think ‘God, I hate Shakespeare.’ Yeah, and so does Nick.”

According to Erik Fjeldsted, who plays Nick, the cast of 40 for “Something Rotten” is larger than there was for a past production of “Little Women.” Many of the people in the cast are playing multiple roles or also work on the production side of things.

“I think the most important thing about anything like this project is that it’s a community thing,” Fjeldsted said. “Community theater is so important … because we wouldn’t get to see this show otherwise. Like, we get to be in it, which is amazing. But the people of Brandon wouldn’t get to see it without this group coming together and working their butts off.”

Something else that helps this production stand apart from others, said Tiana Vasconcelos who plays Portia, is that there are three choreographers working together to arrange the five-minute and longer musical sequences.

She said that she enjoys playing characters like Portia, who could not be more different from her real personality.

With some of the humour being slightly risqué — especially lines uttered by a puritan patriarch unaware his vocabulary is littered with double entendres — Fjeldstad said the ideal audience is probably 13 and older, though his own 10-year-old apparently loves it.

The Nov. 2, 3 and 4 performances start at 7:30 p.m. while the Nov. 5 performance is a 2 p.m. matinee start.

Tickets are available at wmca.ca or in person at the auditorium’s box office and cost $32.50 for adults, $27.50 for seniors, $22.50 for students and $17.50 for kids 12 and under.

As of Sunday, tickets were still available for all four performances.

Mecca’s next productions will be “Elf Jr.,” from Nov. 23 to 25, “The Lion King,” from May 9 to 11, and “RENT” from June 13 to 15.

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