Preview Of The Musical 'Something Rotten' Coming To Tulsa

In about three weeks, you have the chance to check out a brand new musical, never seen before in Tulsa.

I recently traveled to St. Louis to catch up with the touring company of "Something Rotten" before it comes to Tulsa.

The musical is set in the 90's, the 1590's, where the arts, music and theater are all the rage. 

Two brothers are desperately trying to come up with the next big thing, something to outshine the star at the time, William Shakespeare.

So one of the brothers seeks out a soothsayer in hopes of seeing into the future. That soothsayer is none other than Nostradamus.

"He's the famous nephew of the famous Nostradamus but his name is Thomas Nostradamus, It's a lot of fun. He's an interesting character who has a lot of confidence in what he does but really isn't very good at what he does," said Blake Hammond, who plays Thomas Nostradamus.
 
He gets a lot of it right but not quite enough which is where the comedy is of course.

What is predicted is something called a musical, singing and dancing and acting all at the same time.  This idea goes against all things holy at the time, as Puritan Brother Jeremiah can attest. 

"If this show has a villain quote, unquote villain, I think he would be the character. He's very set in his ways and thinks theater and music and poetry is the work of the devil so he is trying to stop the brothers from creating this show that they're doing," said Scott Cote, who plays Brother Jeremiah.

And what follows is a hilarious effort to create the first ever musical. It's an original script with original songs that will have you in stitches. 

"If you're going to see the show for the first time and this is your first theater experience, I personally think that's a great way to come is not knowing anything about it and just eating it up and soaking it up as it happens but people who are familiar with the theater will obviously get all of the references because they're such a tip of the hat to them," said Scott Cote.

"What's funny about it, the people who are coming to see the show in the cities we've played so far, I'm not sure they know the show either but they're leaving the show completely entertained. It's worth taking a risk on if you think I don't know what it's about. Trust that it's going to be a night of laughter and who doesn't need that right now. I do, you know what I mean. So I'm really enjoying being in a production where we're going around the country spreading a bunch of joy," said Blake Hammond.

The show opens on May 23rd at Tulsa's Performing Arts Center.  It runs through May 28th, with matinees both Saturday and Sunday.

You can get tickets now at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center website.