Report Card---"Something Rotten!"

"Something Rotten!" was the third show I saw in New York.
It's a musical approaching the end of its New York run.
It will probably have some sort of national tour, so it's worth talking about.
That's probably the only reason it's worth talking about.
Just to caution you.
I was intrigued to see this show because of its opening number, which aired on last year's Tony Awards, which depicted, quite humorously the invention of the modern musical in the 1500's.
If I had only known that it was the only funny thing in the show, I could have saved the next two and a half hours of my life, and a nice piece of change.
It involves Shakespeare and his inferior contemporaries, who think they are on to something with their musical called "Omelette".
Yes, that's the level of the humor.
It is unrelenting farce that is painfully unfunny.

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

After the first scene, never.
C-.

Compelling even?

Never.
F.

Is it controversial?

It's very tame satire.
F.

Is it a story worth telling?

If they kept it funnier, perhaps.
B.

Is it good storytelling?

It's way, way complicated, to no point.
C.

Is it well written?

The music is undistinguished, as is everything else.
C-.

Is it well cast?  Well played?

Nobody impressed me.
C-.

Well staged?

Nothing impressed me.
C.

Did the director put such a personal stamp on it so that no one else could have made it?

No,
F.

How long does it take to establish the show's locale and time period?

Immediately.
A.

Is it too long? Too short?

It seemed like an eternity.
D.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

No, and no.
D.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

Everything was obvious.
D.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

Only about the mistake I'd made.
F.

Is it funny?

Only that first scene.
D.

Was it  worth the two hundred bucks it cost to see it?

Please.
F.

Is it impressive?

This might be  good time to indicate how amateurish it all seemed.
C-.


Overall grade: C-.

My shit detector just let me down on this one.

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My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, If and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not e-books.
But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@comcast.net

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

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