HHS to present spring musical ‘Something Rotten!’

Hampton High School’s spring musical returns in April and will transport audiences back to London in 1595.

Students have been working tirelessly over the past five months to put on an amazing production of Something Rotten! on April 21, 22, 28 and 29.

Something Rotten! is PG-13, and tickets are $12 each and can be purchased online by visiting https://www.hamptoncats.org/tickets. Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Hampton High School auditorium. The building is located at 2929 McCully Rd, Allison Park.

Created by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick, and successful screenwriters Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, Something Rotten! is a musical comedy that garnered nine Tony nominations in 2015. Set in 1595, London, Something Rotten! centers around the Bottom Brothers, Nick (Kai Suyama) and Nigel (Isaac Thatcher), two playwrights trying to find success but are stuck under the shadow of the rock-star playwright of the Renaissance, William Shakespeare (Andrew Kaehly).

“Kai has been with us since his freshman year, and he’s been a dedicated and fantastic performer all these years,” said musical director Daniel Franklin. “Nigel (Isaac) is the mirror image of everything that Nick possesses.”

Desperate to find success, Nick seeks help from the soothsayer Nostradamus (Brooks Brady) to foretell the next big hit. When Nostradamus tells him that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first musical.

Nick’s wife, Bea, is played by Leah McConnell.

“Kai and Leah have a really strong chemistry because they played husband and wife in last year’s show,” said Mr. Franklin.

Franklin said the energy has been terrific throughout the spring, and the students are excited to put on another spectacular performance.

“What I'm excited about with this musical is to be able to show audiences that there is contemporary, worthy material out there that can be explored, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be the standard musicals that your parents did in high school,” said Mr. Franklin

Over 80 Hampton High School students comprise the cast, crew, and orchestra. For photos and updates, visit their Instagram @HHSMusical.