What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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FEBRUARY 13-19, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 3 FAQ 'Something Rotten' WHEN — 2 p.m. Feb. 13; 8 p.m. Feb. 17-19; 2 p.m. Feb. 20; again Feb. 24-27 WHERE — Arkansas Public Theatre at the Victory in downtown Rogers COST — Tickets start at $25 INFO — 631-8988, arkansas- publictheatre.org COVER STORY 'A Big And Shiny Musical' 'Something Rotten' is everything delightful James Napier welcomes audiences to the Renaissance in the Arkansas Public Theatre production of "Something Rotten," opening this weekend. (Courtesy Photos/Chad Wigington for APT) BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette T ap dance is to musical theater what banjo is to roots music — quintessential. That's especially true in "Something Rotten," a comedy that reveals the origins of musical theater — a prediction by Nostradamus. In the song — self-definingly titled "A Musical" and lasting almost 8 minutes — "Something Rotten" references "Avenue Q ," "Les Mis," "The Music Man," "Chicago," "Rent," "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Guys and Dolls," "A Chorus Line" and many more in lyrics that go something like this: "Because it's a musical "A musical "And nothing's as amazing as a musical "With song and dance "And sweet romance "And happy endings happening by happenstance. "Bright lights, stage fights, and a dazzling chorus "You wanna be great? "Then you gotta create a musical…" In the Arkansas Public Theatre production opening this weekend, Nostradamus is played by Rusty Turner, the editor of this newspaper, who has a beautiful tenor voice and has never tapped See RLT Page 4 Brandtly Wheeler (in photo at left) plays Nick Bottom, a playwright competing — unsuccessfully — with Shakespeare in the APT production of "Something Rotten." In the song "Right Hand Man," (right) Bea (played by Stephanie Whitcomb) explains to her husband Nick Bottom (Wheeler, left) and his brother Nigel (Henry Aggus, right) that women can do more than men think they can.