TUTS takes viewers on a romp through Elizabethan England in Something Rotten!, to August 27

The musical comedy alternates evenings with We Will Rock You for Theatre Under the Stars’ 2022 season

*Something Rotten!* Photo by Emily Cooper

Theatre Under the Stars presents Something Rotten!, alternating with We Will Rock You, at Malkin Bowl to August 27

SOMETHING ROTTEN! is happening at Stanley Park’s Malkin Bowl this summer. The musical plays on alternating nights during Theatre Under the Stars’ 2022 season, swapping out with We Will Rock You. (Read Stir’s feature article about the Queen tribute here.)

Sixteenth-century Shakespeare meets 21st-century Broadway in the show by Grammy-winning songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick and screenwriters Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell that sends up classics such as West Side Story, South Pacific, and Les Misérables. Time Out New York called Something Rotten! “the funniest musical comedy in at least 400 years”.

Helmed by Rachel Peake in her TUTS directorial debut, Something Rotten! follows Nick and Nigel Bottom (played by Kamyar Pazandeh and Vicente Sandoval respectively), two Renaissance-era playwright siblings whose dreams of writing a hit show are hampered by the raging success of a certain William Shakespeare (Daniel Curalli). A soothsayer named Nostradamus (Jyla Robinson) offers a winning strategy for the brothers: the creation a brand new form of theatre, the musical. Katie-Rose Connors appears as Nick’s wife, Bea, while Cassandra Consiglio (Schmigadoon!) portrays Nigel’s love interest.

Peake, who is associate artistic director of the Arts Club, is a three-time Jessie Richardson Award winner.

“Something Rotten! is a playful romp through Elizabethan England, filled with satirical comedy and big show stopping numbers,” TUTS board president Patrick Roberge says in a release.

Choreography is by Nicol Spinola, music direction by Brent Hughes, set design by Shizuka Kai, costume design by Stephanie Kong, lighting design by Robert Sondergaard, and sound design is by Bradley Danyluk.

See TUTS for tickets and more info.

Articles

Theatre review: You’re Just a Place That I Know is a moving musical reflection on family and memory

Based on Adrian Glynn McMorran’s album of the same name, the show at the Arts Club’s BMO Theatre Centre is more than just a concert

Theatre review: Comedic snap of Metro Theatre’s Barefoot in the Park gives retro setting a timeless resonance

Sharp dialogue and restless energy, prodded on by the little irritations of married life, result in cozy yet unsettling laughs

Ventriloquist Michael Harrison embraces the magical escapism of puppetry

Ahead of his Anvil Theatre show, the long-time cruise-line performer talks about dispelling childhood fears with lovable characters

Review: Liquid limbs and mesmerizing visual magic at Recirquel’s Paradisum

In DanceHouse and The Cultch co-presentation, the Hungarian company is full of flowing bodies and rippling fabric

Blackout Art Society’s English looks at language and belonging, January 23 to February 1 at the Firehall

Sanaz Toossi’s play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2023 for its look at four students preparing for the TOEFL

At the Advance Theatre Festival, Alexandra Lainfiesta uses magic realism to explore the personal sacrifices of immigration

Latinx theatre artist’s debut script unfolds across three worlds: Toronto, Antigua Guatemala, and a realm in which the immigration system functions like a game show

You’re Just a Place That I Know retraces a refugee story through song, at the BMO Theatre Centre from January 21 to February 1

Adrian Glynn McMorran’s moving theatre-concert pays tribute to his Ukraine-born grandparents, complete with a choir and traditional instruments

Carousel Theatre for Young People hosts first annual Family Forward Festival, February 14 to 16

Offerings range from storytelling event The Family Flame to dance parties, documentary screenings, drag performances, and more

Daily human cost of the Russo-Ukrainian war revealed in PuSh Fest’s Eight Short Compositions

The starkly moving show by the Czech Republic’s Archa Centre of Documentary Theatre recounts true stories of lives upended by the conflict

House of Folk: A Lost Canadian Folk Show premieres at the Firehall Arts Centre, February 14 to March 8

Production by Tracey Power transports audiences back to the time of coffeehouse open mics that nurtured musicians like Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen

Théâtre la Seizième hosts Parler mal at Alliance Française Vancouver, February 6 and 7

Théâtre Gauche production probes into linguistic insecurities and the stigma of being a “bad francophone”

Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park lands at Metro Theatre, January 24 to February 14

Romantic comedy set in 1960s New York City follows newlyweds navigating marriage, compromise, and the beautiful mess of learning how to live

Dark comedy The Baking Show Show: The Play premieres with Ruby Slippers Theatre in February

Presented with the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and Presentation House Theatre, Faly Mevamanana’s play centres on a cultural obsession with competition

Anvil Theatre presents Michael Harrison's Ventastic: Reimagining the Art of Ventriloquism, January 31

Skilled Canadian ventriloquist has competed on America’s Got Talent and headlined with Disney Cruise Line for more than two decades

Advance Theatre Festival brings five staged readings to the Shadbolt Centre, January 26 to 30

Ruby Slippers Theatre presentation features new works by Irene (Fan) Yi, Abi Padilla, Marcia Johnson, Alexandra Lainfiesta, and Sewit Eden Haile

Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize–winning play English comes to the Firehall Arts Centre, January 23 to February 1

Amir Hosseini directs the Blackout Art Society production about four Iranian adults preparing for an English proficiency exam

Burning Mom parks its camper at the Kay Meek Arts Centre, the Anvil Theatre, and the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in January

Playwright Mieko Ouchi’s story of one woman’s self-discovery in the Nevada Desert is rooted in her mother’s true story

Year in review: Looking back on a few standout moments in Vancouver’s theatre and dance scenes in 2025

Provocatively reimagined endings to opera and Shakespeare were among the random scenes that stuck with us from the year onstage

Rollicking panto, offbeat film, Viennese musical elegance, and more offer unique ways to celebrate New Year’s

Whether you’re into show tunes or funk, improv comedy or acrobatics, you’re sure to find your own way of welcoming 2026 with the help of Vancouver’s arts companies and venues

O Christmas Tea: A British Comedy serves up a whimsical party at the Massey Theatre, December 28

James & Jamesy’s family-friendly show sails through a series of slapstick and sometimes surreal journeys

Theatre review: In Metro Theatre's Jack and the Beanstalk, topical themes punch up a lighthearted panto

Set to a soundtrack of Broadway showtunes and Christmas songs, production features a standout performance from Victor Hunter as grand dame

The Horseradish Theatre stages the quirky Slavic-accented comedy Number 13, December 18 to 21

When a Prime Minister’s assistant’s romantic hotel rendez-vous is interrupted, a host of hilariously chaotic misunderstandings ensue

Pacific Theatre hosts final Christmas Presence at its home of more than three decades, to December 23

Annual holiday variety show hosted by founder Ron Reed wraps up the company’s programming for the foreseeable future

Theatre review: Gateway Theatre’s ambitious Annie has girl power to burn

Energized title-role performance by Azaleah Korn leads an ensemble with a gift for the physical comedy and classic song-and-dance numbers of this beloved musical