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Battle with the Bard: Devon Frieder presents 'Something Rotten' at sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Little Theatre
From left, Noah Smith, Jonathan Cordova, Daniel Garcia, Rob Armstrong Martin, Lando Ruiz and Hector Corona are part of 鈥淪omething Rotten,鈥 which is staged at sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Little Theatre beginning on Friday, Jan. 26.
Devon Frieder is always up for a challenge.
As a choreographer and dancer, Frieder enjoys what joy live theater not only brings to the performers, but to an audience.
Based in New York City, Frieder makes the trek back to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 to put on a production.
This year it鈥檚 the Tony-nominated musical, 鈥淪omething Rotten.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really fun show,鈥 Frieder says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big Broadway musical and really fun for the whole family.鈥
鈥淪omething Rotten鈥 kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, and runs Friday-Sunday through Feb. 11, at sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Little Theatre.
鈥淪omething Rotten鈥 is a musical comedy with a book by John O鈥橣arrell and Karey Kirkpatrick and music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick.
It is set in 1595, where the Black Plague has ceded power to the Puritans, farthingales and codpieces are the latest fashion trend, and the biggest celebrity in England is a playwright named William Shakespeare.
In the midst of all this excitement, brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are trying to keep their acting company afloat.
In a desperate attempt to out-Bard the Bard, Nick consults with a soothsayer, who informs him that the future of theater involves acting, singing and dancing 鈥 sometimes all at once.
As the Bottom brothers strive to write the world鈥檚 very first musical, they find themselves caught in a bitter battle with the Bard and the play鈥檚 the thing.
鈥淭he musical is a favorite of mine,鈥 Frieder says. 鈥淚 got to see it on Broadway four times. The music is awesome and there are so many roles.鈥
The sa国际传媒官网网页入口 production consists of 26 in the cast.
Rehearsals have been taking place since mid-December, with the schedule ramped up since the beginning of January.
鈥淲e usually have a pretty short, but intensive rehearsal process,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 always come back from New York to put on a production that is professional and has an intensive rehearsal process. It鈥檚 been exciting to have a lot of characters in the musical.鈥
Frieder says it鈥檚 always amazing to see the talent in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.
鈥淚 have some new people with me this year,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e also have performers returning for another one of my productions. The level of talent is top-notch.鈥
Frieder says while 鈥淪omething Rotten鈥 is a comedy at its core, there is more to the musical.
鈥淭he heart of the show is that you go on this journey with the brothers,鈥 she says. 鈥淭hey want to keep their integrity while making a difference. The two brothers will do anything for each other and they are learning to put their best foot forward.鈥