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Open Call AUDITIONS for SOMETHING ROTTEN!

Little Theatre of Manchester
Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John Farrell;
Music & Lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick

Director: John Pike; Musical Director: Kim Aliczi; Choreographer: Taylor Zappone

Performance Dates: November 8-9-10, 15-16-17, and 22-23-24

Rehearsals Begin: August 31, 2024 (approx.)

All Roles Open: 14 men / 8 women / 2 gender fluid

Audition Location:
Little Theatre of Manchester
177 Hartford Road, Manchester, CT 06040

Audition Dates: Sunday, June 9th: starting at 6:00pm.

Monday, June 10th: starting at 6:00pm

Callback Date: Thursday, June 13th: Times to be determined

If you are interested in…

A Principal Role: Prepare 1 minute of a comic musical theatre song and 1 minute of a ballad. A piano accompanist will be provided. Please bring your sheet music.

Please DO NOT audition with a song from the show.

An Ensemble-Only Role: Prepare 1 minute of a comic musical theatre song.

A Non-Singing Only Role: Prepare a one-minute comic monologue not from the show. (There are only two roles that fit this description).

1. Wear loose clothing that is comfortable to move in for the group dance call that will follow singing auditions.

2. Bring a headshot and resume if you have one.

3. Bring a list of all potential conflicts including travel, etc. Any conflicts with the posted schedule must be agreed to by the Director before casting can be confirmed.

Auditions will be scheduled in blocks of 75 minutes. Please use this link to sign up for an audition slot.

https://www.cheneyhall.org/schedule-your-audition-for-something-rotten

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Please direct specific questions about audition requirements to: johnpike1@gmail.com

Questions will be responded to after May 27th.

For additional information on the producing organization please visit: www.cheneyhall.org/

Character Breakdown (All ages are approximate)

PRINCIPAL MALE ROLES

NICK BOTTOM (Male 30-42 – High Baritone)
Comedic actor who sings – with tap dance skill a plus. A struggling Renaissance writer extraordinarily jealous of Shakespeare and at the end of his rope. Determined to one up the Bard by any means to make his own mark. He is also Nigel’s older brother and writing partner.

NIGEL BOTTOM (Male 25- 37 - Tenor)
Comedic actor who sings very well. Nick’s sweet, naïve younger brother dedicated to the struggles of his sibling but less willing to use. A struggling writer and poet who falls in love with Portia, a Puritan., perhaps a little awkward. Not very confident, awkward, gullible and easily manipulated. Falls in love with Portia and ultimately finds confidence in himself through art and love.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: (Male, 30-42 – High Baritone / Pop-Rock Tenor)
Comedic actor with a pop/rock voice style, tap dance skills a plus. The one and only Bard. Over the top with a huge ego. He is great…and he knows it. A renaissance rock star who gets all of the praise and attention from his adoring fans leaving 2nd drawer writers like Nick and Nigel in his shadow.

NOSTRADAMUS (Male 40 – 52, Strong Baritone) Strong comic actor/singer who moves well. A bloviating and quirky soothsayer whose predictions and visions are correct about 80 percent of the time. But the other 20 percent is a big problem.

BROTHER JEREMIAH (Male 45- 60, Tenor) Comedic actor who sings. Portia's father. A haughty and deeply repressed Puritan who believes Nick and Nigel's plays are sinful. Pompous and judgmental he watches over his daughter’s activities like a hawk. He shows nothing but disrespect towards everyone, but especially Nick and Nigel. He despises all things ungodly.

SHYLOCK (Male 50-65+, possibly non-singing) Comic character (minimal singing or non-singing role) An investor and mediocre patron of the arts to whom Nick and Nigel are deeply in debt. Jewish landlord/tax collector who loves theater more than anything. He is straight out of the “Borscht Belt.”

PRINCIPAL FEMALE ROLES

BEA (Female 30 – 40, Alto with warmth but can belt) Comedienne with a strong belt Nick’s wife who loves him and supports him despite his questionable decision making and of success. She dresses up like a man to prove she can be an actor as well as be a full-fledged partner in Nick’s mission and help make ends meet. A powerful woman who is quite persuasive when she wants to be.

PORTIA (Female 20-35, Soprano with a strong mix) Comedienne who sings well. A quirky Puritan girl, who loves poetry, theater, and ultimately Nigel. the only daughter of Brother Jeremiah and the love interest of Nigel Bottom. They fall madly in love with each other over their mutual love for Shakespeare and poetry. On the surface, a bit ditzy…but her enthusiasm is infectious and genuine.

PRINCIPAL ROLES UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR EITHER GENDER

(The following roles were originally male on Broadway but females will be considered)

LORD (OR LADY) CLAPHAM (Male or Female) Non-singing comedic role. A posh patron of the theater. Extravagant comedian.

MINSTREL (If cast as Male, tenor…if cast as Female, alto) A genial narrator of sorts who introduces the cast and welcome the audience to the Renaissance era. Opens both acts. Will play ensemble roles as well.

MALE ENSEMBLE ROLES

NICK & NIGEL ACTING TROUPE
A group of 6-8 males who play all the roles in the Bottom Brothers Plays. These are individual members and characters within Nick Bottom’s theatrical troupe. Each a strong comedian and idiosyncratic.

Among them: Tom Snout, Robin (plays the female roles in the troupe), Peter Quince, Snug, Francis Flute.

MALE AND FEMALE ENSEMBLE ROLES

Townspeople including: Three Chefs, Miranda, Rosalind, Helena (friends of Bea) Astrologer Psychic Woman, Eyepatch Woman, Announcer, Puritans, etc.

All female ensemble will be required to dance.

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SOMETHING ROTTEN Synopsis

Act One

London, 1595. "Welcome to the Renaissance," when William Shakespeare is at the top of a list of famous playwrights, while Nick and Nigel Bottom are definitely, well, bottom. The brothers are rehearsing their latest hope for a hit play, when their patron turns up with the news that the Bard has written the very same idea. "God, I Hate Shakespeare!" declares Nice to his shocked troupe.

Back at home, Nick's wife, Bea, suggests that she could help out by getting a job. "Let me be your 'Right Hand Man,'" she implores, but the suggestion only makes Nick feel more like a failure. In private, he repeats "God, I Hate Shakespeare!" — even if he admits to himself that it wouldn't be so bad to have some of that success... if only he could know what the future holds. With that idea, he takes their precious savings and heads off to Soothsayer Alley.

Here, Nick encounters Nostradamus (or rather, his nephew, "Thomas"). Nick pays him to predict the next big thing in theatre, and Nostradamus foresees "A Musical!" Nick is convinced that this is what they must write! Their musical will be about something epic, a massive historical event, and so his troupe dances its way through a catchy little number about "The Black Death." Their patron is appalled and quits. Brother Jeremiah, the Puritan who hates all theatre, warns them not to add evil music to their already sinful plays.

But Jeremiah's beautiful daughter, Portia, loves poetry and plays so when she discovers that she shares this passion with Nigel, they list their favorites in "I Love the Way" while falling in love with each other. They are amazed to be invited to hear a private recitation by William Shakespeare, who performs "Will Power," but at the show's after-party, it becomes clear that Shakespeare only wants to steal young Nigel's notebook. Nick bursts in, just in time to prevent the theft, but is publicly humiliated by the Bard.

Still with no idea for his musical, Nick returns to Nostradamus to ask what Shakespeare's greatest play will be. Nostradamus can see it clearly! Shakespeare's greatest work will be called... Omelette. With this foolproof idea, an excited Nick is convinced that this "Bottom's Gonna Be on Top!"

Act Two

"Welcome to the Renaissance," where Shakespeare is complaining that it's "Hard to Be the Bard." His spy informs him that Nick Bottom has hired a soothsayer to steal Shakespeare's greatest idea, so the Bard adopts a disguise and infiltrates Nick and Nigel's troupe. They have been rehearsing their first number, "It's Eggs!" but Nigel can't help but feel as though something isn't right about all of this. He shares his feelings with Portia, who urges him to write from the heart. Portia imagines her fellow Puritans declaring "We See the Light" once they have heard the beauty of Nigel's poem, but in fact, when Brother Jeremiah catches the two of them together, he banishes his daughter to Scotland. Feeling bereft and almost suicidal, Nigel writes all night and creates a masterpiece. When the disguised Shakespeare hears lines like "To be or not to be" and "Get thee to a nunnery," he knows that he has got to get this play. Nick is maddened that it has nothing to do with eggs, but Nigel insists that the only thing that matters is "To Thine Own Self" be true. He refuses to write Omelette and walks out. Bea reminds Nigel that for all of his faults, Nick would always be his "Right Hand Man." Nigel agrees to go back and write Omelette the Musical; Bea is confident that it is a show that they will never forget.

There's "Something Rotten!" warns the cast at the top of Nick's make-or-break show. Nick gives it everything that he's got as he sings the title number, "Make an Omelette," complete with dancing eggs and cameos from every musical that Nostradamus has foreseen. One actor goes off script, though — the newest recruit to the troupe pulls off his disguise and reveals himself as none other than William Shakespeare! He tells everyone how Nick stole his idea, Nick is publicly disgraced and worse, Nigel is left feeling utterly betrayed.

In court, Nick and his collaborators face execution until Bea shows up disguised as their elderly male lawyer. Nick realizes that he should have listened when Nigel told him "To Thine Own Self" be true, and the brothers are re-reconciled. Bea calls Shakespeare as a witness, who persuades the star-struck judge not to execute them. Instead, they are banished to the New World and told to take their so-called "musicals" with them. Portia defies her father and runs away with them. In America, they perform their new show with a "Finale" written from the heart, like Nigel always wanted, the very first of hundreds of American musicals!