For the first time in 14 summers, Thin Air Shakespeare is presenting Jackson audiences with a musical.
Director Kate Gleason said the 2015 hit “Something Rotten!” is a love letter to both Broadway and the Bard. It weaves characters from William Shakespeare’s Renaissance era with song and dance.
There are clever references for older audiences and enough slap stick humor to delight little ones.
“Just to watch the faces of the little kids as they’re watching the singing and the dancing, it was just so gratifying and so much fun,” she said.
The cast features locals – including County Commissioner Natalia Macker – and talent from around the country. Some actors cover six different roles.
Avid musical theater fans will hear references in the dialogue and the orchestration, spanning Broadway classics and newer acts, said music director Kenji Harada.
Newbies will delight in dancing eggs and tap numbers.
The show’s frontmen London brothers Nigel and Nick Bottom, are a Shakespeare fan and jealous wanna-be trying to write the next best hit.
Part of the sibling’s soothsayer-informed journey is spelling out what the first musical set in 1595 is all about.
Regulars like director Gleason, who has been part of a decade of Thin Air productions, are still finding reasons to come out.
“Performing in this town in the summer is incredible. There’s such a sense of community here,” she said.
Ditto for Harada, who was lured out from San Francisco and leads four other musicians for the live performances while also playing keys.
“I’m just here in these mountains doing a musical. Like, it doesn’t get much more magical than that,” he said. “I didn’t know what to expect. And I felt lucky to be here every single day.”
It’s not every day that audiences can see a full-blown musical for free. But accessibility has been part of Off Square Theater’s mission from the beginning, said Education Director and Development Manager Sadie Frank.
Massaging the typically “massive” production into something feasible for a smaller company of less than 20 was a creative challenge, Gleason said. The result is an added dynamism and a lot of quick changes.
“There’s never a dull moment,” she said.
Same goes for Harada’s pit of five musicians.
The original score calls for a horn section and strings, not to mention three keyboardists. But Harada, who serves as the primary pianist, has found a way to cover the key parts.
“Kenji has created a horned section without horns, so it’s kind of magical,” Gleason said.
The annual Off Square Theatre production will return to Shakespeare’s own works next year. That means theatergoers have just a few chances to revel in something distinct and potentially rotten.
Audiences are encouraged to bring picnic baskets and lawn chairs. Free shows start at 7:30 p.m. this Thursday, July 16, through Sunday.
