'Something Rotten!' showing this weekend

PENN YAN--The Penn Yan Academy Drama Club and the Penn Yan Theatre Company are proud to present the raucous laugh-out-loud comedy Something Rotten! this weekend, Aug. 5 to 7.
Welcome to the Renaissance! As the Minstrel (Zachary Blauvelt) invites audiences to experience London in the late 1500s, we can tell that it's a new and exciting time - for most people. For playwrights Nick and Nigel Bottom (Jacob Eskildsen and Massan Jensen), though, the time is less than exciting. The brothers are trying to scrape by and practice their art, but are constantly living in the shadow of the age's number one rockstar - the Bard himself, William Shakespeare (Jason Kinsey). Add to that the pressure from local religious zealots led by the fiery Brother Jeremiah (Jason Riley), and the brothers just cannot seem to catch a break. After their hard work is once again thwarted by the Bard and they lose their patron (Pat Fegley), Nick becomes desperate to find a way to support his brother and his caring, headstrong wife Bea (Megan Bailey). He enlists the services of Nostradamus (Juan Espana), a soothsayer who looks into the future to help Nick determine what the next "big thing" in theatre is going to be, so that he can for once beat Shakespeare to the punch. The answer? MUSICALS - Plays where actors sing and dance! It seems like a ridiculous premise, but Nick is out of options. Supported by local businessman Shylock (Carl Schwartz), Nick and his acting troupe begin to assemble the world's first-ever musical - to hilarious and sometimes disastrous outcomes. Tensions arise between the Bottom brothers, though, as Nigel begins to question this strange path that they are on. New love, in the form of a poem-loving Puritan girl named Portia (Ella Kinsey), has shown Nigel that the real key to life is not being successful - but being true to thine own self.
Featuring a fantastic ensemble of all ages including Abby Blauvelt, Juliet Chaffee, Spencer Christensen, Eileen Lynch Farrar, Benjamin Granger, Meredith Hanley, Garrett Hilton, Jayden Hollister, Rhiannon LyonSmith, Dan Martens, Owen McFarland, Oliver Perez, Leah Prather, Rae Richter, Ben Simpson, Brisco Smith, Sophia Smith, Emmaleigh Stempien, Stanley Weaver, Addyson Webber, and Camryn Webber, Something Rotten! is guaranteed to have you laughing in your seats as you watch this outrageous cast of characters singing, dancing, and having a blast on stage.
Something Rotten, with a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell and Music/Lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, is directed by Penn Yan Academy Choir and Theatre teacher Jessica Kinsey. The production will run from Friday, Aug. 5 through Sunday, Aug. 7 in the PYA Auditorium, and will be available online through a paid livestream as well. Friday and Saturday shows will begin at 7 p.m., with a Sunday Matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets for the live performances and the livestream are available online at www.showtix4u.com/events/rotten at $9 for children under 12, $14 for students/seniors, $15 for adults, or $15 for the livestream option. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for a dollar more. All profits from this production will be donated to the Sampson Theatre Revitalization project. The production showcases the partnership between PYA Drama Club and the Penn Yan Theatre Company.
This production contains some adult humor and mild language.