Torrance Theatre Company has done it again, delivering a big-stage, big-cast, big-orchestra summer musical so professionally staged and performed, you just might find yourself thinking you’re seeing the 2015 Broadway hit Something Rotten being performed at one of our major SoCal regional theaters.

 A musical theater buff’s dream come true, Something Rotten takes us back to the year 1595 when a certain William Shakespeare (Allen Barstow) reigned almost as supreme as her majesty Queen Elizabeth while aspiring playwright brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom (Christopher Tiernan and Bryan Eid) found themselves longing for even a smidgen of Will’s success.

 No wonder then that when older bro Nick happens upon Nostradamus (Ryan Johnson) one dark and gloomy night (not the Nostradamus but his somewhat less psychically gifted nephew) and asks to know what The Next Theatrical Big Thing will be, he’s more than willing to take the soothsayer’s advice, no matter how outlandish it might seem.

And what you may ask does Nostradamus predict will soon be the rage? Here’s a hint. It’s got “song and dance, and sweet romance, and happy endings happening by happenstance, bright lights, stage fights, and a dazzling chorus.”

 That’s right, it’s a musical, and before long Nick is taking Nostradamus’s advice and writing “Omelette” (the would-be oracle got everything right but the first syllable) much to the consternation of younger brother Nigel, who’d put art over commerce any day.

 Meanwhile, Nick’s feminist wife Bea (Abby Carlson) has gone out in male attire to find a job (women being forbidden by law from doing men’s work) and Nigel has fallen head over heels for Portia (Nico Palmer), daughter of puritan Brother Jeremiah (Kyle Wilson), who’d rather see his offspring burn in hell than have her marry a heathen, a place she’s headed in any case if she and Nigel tie the knot.

 Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell’s Tony-nominated book is filled with delightfully deliberate anachronisms and lyricists Wayne Kirkpatrick and younger brother Karey have just as much fun referencing just about every Broadway show in the musical theater canon.

 As for the tunes the Tony-nominated brothers Kirkpatrick have written, the Original Cast Recording issues a “warning” that they are “all show tunes,” which means you can expect to be humming along to hooks that would do Show Tune King Jerry Herman proud.

 Not only that, but Torrance Theatre Company-debuting choreographer Sjaan Trowbridge treats audiences to one show-stopping production number after another featuring deliciously choreographed and energetically executed tributes to Bennett, Fosse, Robbins and more, most especially in in “A Musical!”, a musical theater reference-packed showstopper that may well break the TTC record for longest sustained applause and cheers, with “Make An Omelette” coming in a close second.

Cary Jordahl once again reveals a mastery for staging a big-scale musical with attention to the smallest detail, eliciting one stellar performance after another from another pro-caliber Torrance Theatre Company cast.

 Returning from last summer’s Year’s Best production of Disney The Little Mermaid are its evilicious sea witch Ursula and lovestruck Flounder, stage brothers Tiernan and Eid once again delivering standout star turns, the former endearing himself to audiences as perennial loser Nick and the latter once again adorably smitten, this time round by Fisher’s sweet and sassy Puritan Gone Wild Portia, and SoCal favorite Carlson is a feisty delight as budding feminist Bea.

Johnson (Little Mermaid’s wild-and-wacky Scuttle) once again proves himself a scene stealer extraordinaire as the equally wild-and-wacky Nostradamus, Perry Shields has great fun skewering stereotypes as money lender Shylock, and Wilson is a flamboyant hoot as the closeted Brother Jeremiah.

Finally, when it comes to commanding a stage with Vegas headliner pizzazz, they don’t come any pizzazzier than Barstow’s Shakespeare.

 Ensemble members Jake Asaro (vocal captain), Meaghan Chew, Kylie Christensen (dance captain), Rio Colino (Bard Boy, Chef Trio), Theodore Coonradt (Lord Clapham, Master Of The Justice), Natalie Cooper, Amber Florin (Minstrel), Connor Foley, Danny Gaitan (Peter Quince), Matt Garber (Robin), Krista Gillis, Gelline Ibarrola, Kennedy Kemmerer, Lori Lewis, Rachel McGinty, Lauren Muraida, Lauren Oseas, Cameron Plank (Bard Boy), Daniel Scipio (Bard Boy, Chef Trio), Johnathan Strand (Tom Snout), Joshua Michael Acosta-Velez (Francis Flute), and Bradley Weaver (Bard Boy, Chef Trio) sing, dance, and play minor roles like nobody’s business.

 Bradley Hampton does himself proud as music director, vocal director, and conductor of Something Rotten’s sensational 12-member pit orchestra.

Jordahl’s from-the-ground-up modular scenic design gives Something Rotten a nifty Renaissance look, though scene changes can prove a bit too time-consuming.

 Steve Giltner’s vibrant lighting design is his accomplished best, Bradley Allen Lock has come up with a smashing bunch of Shakespeare-era costumes rented from Theatre Company, Michael Aldapa’s hair and makeup designs and Kyle Lukas’s period props are equally impressive, and Something Rotten sounds great too thanks to the combined efforts of sound designer Brian Shieh and sound engineer Michael Svolos.

Jordahl is producing artistic director. Giltner’s lighting design is provided by Streetlite, LLC and sound design is provided by DNB Design Sound. Julia Bacon is stage manager and Jorge Macias and Leonore Booth are assistant stage managers.

Three summers ago, I wrote that Torrance Theatre company’s The Addams Family “redefines what a community theater can accomplish with a crackerjack volunteer-actor cast and just as much talent behind the scenes.” Ditto last August’s The Little Mermaid, and praise be the theater gods, lighting has struck once again in 2025. This summer’s absolutely fabulous Something Rotten looks to be another Torrance Theatre Company smash.

James Armstrong Theatre, 3330 Civic Center Drive, Torrance.
www.torrancetheatrecompany.com

–Steven Stanley
August 3, 2024
Photos: Torrance Theatre Company

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: James Armstrong Theatre, John O’Farrell, Karey Kirkpatrick, Los Angeles Theater Review, Torrance Theatre Company, Wayne Kirkpatrick