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.
Related Articles
Production by award-winning artist Hiromoto Ida follows a married couple that visits the empty site of their old home
Arts Club Theatre Company presents Tai Amy Grauman’s era-spanning love story that honours the intergenerational resilience of Métis women
Kicking off Touchstone Theatre’s 50th season, Frances Koncan’s satire gives diverse women a voice
The slasher-flick tribute features top-notch teamwork, unhinged characters, and even a few genuine jump scares
Goblin:Oedipus and Antigone set to hit the Douglas Campbell Theatre next season
Abi Padilla, Argel Monte de Ramos, and Anjela Magpantay are among the artists creating new works that draw on astrophysics
Mammalian Diving Reflex production comes to Vancouver for the first time in a bilingual presentation by Théâtre la Seizième
Jessie Richardson Theatre Award–nominated production follows a man as he reflects on beginnings and endings
Kate Hamill’s production offers a post-pandemic take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic detective tale
Theatre company spent over $13,000 on nearly 30,000 brochures that can no longer be delivered to Vancouver neighbourhoods, shares artistic producer Donna Spencer
Other offerings span extravagant 8 Gays of Channukah – The Musical and stylistically diverse Shtetl Cabaret
With its pared-back set and present-day rewording, Ibsen’s 150-year-old story of stifling social pressures takes on new edge
Cast and company strike balance between humour and emotion while diving into the notoriously demanding score of this ’90s classic
With Amy Herzog’s adaptation of the 19th-century classic by Henrik Ibsen, the Arts Club creates a psychological and social vision that is startlingly contemporary
Other works in store range from Mammalian Diving Reflex’s innovative Nightwalks With Teenagers to Théâtre Gauche’s offbeat humour–filled Parler mal
Western Gold Theatre festival continues to October 11 with play readings, a karaoke dance party, improv classes, and more
Performance created by Toronto-based company Mammalian Diving Reflex takes place outdoors in French and English
The rock musical’s creator and composer, Jonathan Larson, didn’t live to see its enduring success
Faye’s Room by disability-identified playwright Alex K. Masse marks company’s first mainstage production since the rebrand
Anchored by a knockout Rafiki and a parade of still-magical animal puppets, the Broadway Across Canada touring show proves this musical is still king of the jungle
Frances Končan’s historical satire follows three women as they share their views on life, love, and Louis Riel
Titles include Jeff Ho’s antigone: 方, Hannah Moscovitch’s Little One, and Francis Dowlatabadi’s My Roommate Ahriman
At the Waterfront, actors embrace mishaps while set pieces are programmed to go awry on cue
Black Box Theatre Co. presents the production that has garnered wide acclaim since its 2012 premiere in London