Episode 457. Something’s More Rotten

Published by austin on

ROTTEN BRAD OSCAROur conversation continues this week with Brad Oscar (pictured), Heidi Blickenstaff, and John Cariani — three of the stars and original cast members of the Shakespearean Broadway musical Something Rotten! — who share their insights into the show’s creation. Featuring the nuances of reactions, audience apologies, the importance of not lingering, the dangers of reflection, the subjectivity of comedy, the challenge of changing material on opening night, the courage to edit the show, the sweet tenor of John Cariani, the likelihood of Brad Oscar getting notes, and the eeriness of Heidi Blickenstaff quoting fundamental RSC values. NOTE: Part One of this two-part interview can be found here. (Length 19:12)

Podcast: Download (17.7MB)

Subscribe: Spotify | Stitcher | RSS | More

Categories: Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast
Tags:

1 Comment

Randall Brown · November 9, 2015 at 3:14 pm

I was fortunate to see Something Rotten when in NY this last summer. The best play I have ever seen! I play the CD almost every day. I want to thank and congratulate the cast and management on putting together a magnificent show. I hope to see the touring.

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Related Posts

Clyde’s In DC

Chicago-based actor Dee Dee Batteast (above) plays the title role in Lynn Nottage’s Clyde’s at the Studio Theatre in Washington DC and she discusses the wild tonal swing between this role and her previous role as Scrooge's niece in the Goodman Theatre's A Christmas Carol. Dee Dee shares how much she loves monsters (both watching them and playing them); how she's doing the devil’s work; how she navigates dizzying extremes; the possibilities of redemption; how freedom looks different for different characters; some strange lobby encounters; insightful mob boss comparisons; the power of playing elemental forces and the fun of playing a badass; and the differences – and surprising similarities – between Clyde’s and A Christmas Carol. (Length 21:43)

Shakespeare’s ‘Star Wars’

Author Ian Doescher wrote William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope and others in the Quirk Books Pop Shakespeare series (The Taming of the Clueless, Much Ado About Mean Girls, Get Thee Back to the Future), which imagine popular movies adapted into plays as they might have been written by William Shakespeare. Ian discusses his Jane Austen/zombie inspiration; how his bar idea transformed into an actual best-selling series; figuring out how Yoda speaks in Elizabethan English; his personal connection to Shakespeare; how film action translates to the stage; the delight of inserting deep cut Easter eggs into the narrative; and the huge fun of embracing limitations and visualizing theatricality. (Length 20:54) (Skywalker Hamlet image by Nicolas Delort.)

More Michael Chiklis

Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor Michael Chiklis returns to discuss some of the roles he's played and some of the roles he'd like to play. Michael shares his pride in doing The Thing (not to be confused with 'the thing'); the downside of success in a specific kind of role; his love of music and performing live; how he deals with critics; receiving praise from Stan Lee; the importance of reinvention; which Shakespeare roles he'd like to tackle next; and his arguments for the person he thinks wrote Shakespeare's plays. (For those wanting an authoritative refutation of the various Authorship Theories, download the free PDF, Shakespeare Bites Back: Not So Anonymous, written by Shakespeare scholars – and RSC Podcast guests – Paul Edmondson and Sir Stanley Wells.) (Length 22:40)