STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to come up with a hit play. But that’s difficult to do when that rock star—William Shakespeare—is strutting his hits all over England.

Grasping at straws, Nick ponies up his family fortune to a soothsayer—a niece of Nostradamus. And based on his bizarre interpretations of her sometimes head-scratching predictions, he sets out to write the world’s first musical—something about omelettes?!-- even though he has no idea what a musical is.

The Spot’s Middle School Company takes audience back to the Renaissance in the 70-minute version of “Something Rotten! Jr.” which is running through this Saturday, May 23, at The Spot in Ketchum.

The musical is hilarious, revolving around mistaken predictions, splashy song and dance numbers, non-stop puns, sight gags and Broadway spoofing fun.

And the two dozen youngsters bringing it to life make it even more fun with their enthusiasm, energy, spot-on connection with the audience and talent.

Did we mention talent?

“These kids have talent!” said Dan DeLuca, manager of operations for Sun Valley Museum of Art, who saw Monday’s dress rehearsal.

The Spot started its Young Spot Company for high school students 10 years ago in 2016 but only started its middle school program—Young Co. Lite--last year with a production of “Beetlejuice Jr.”

The teens in it were equally talented and enthusiastically, only accentuating how lucky we are that we now get an opportunity every year to see these kids perform. Of course, many have had acting experience before, thanks to the Company B Camps that St. Thomas Playhouse offers and Laughing Stock Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol: The Musical.”

Georgie Payne, a seventh grader at the Sun Valley Community School, is Nostradamus’ niece, and she holds nothing back as she dances her way across the stage as slides of Olde England flip in the background.

“I'm doing this musical because last year I did Beetlejuice, and it was just such a fun experience. It’s such a closely knit community, and I wanted to be part of that family again,” she said.

Van Flandro plays the very conceited William Shakespeare to a T.

“What I love about this musical is it's like a silly spin-off of the Renaissance era. It would have been interesting to have lived in that time because of the plague but it would have been pretty cool, too, to go see one of Shakespeare’s big hits. And it was really fun putting this play together because I love all these people. They are amazing, very talented, and just awesome to be around.”

Broman Feldstein, who plays Shylock, said he loves how the musical spoofs Shakespeare instead of paying homage to him.

“What I love most about this musical is how there's a lot of good comedy and there also are some connections to the Renaissance, and there is a lot of, like, hidden Easter eggs of references from other musicals,” said Mikala McCann, who plays Nick Bottom’s long-suffering wife Bea. “And I’ve learned about the activities they did in the Renaissance and the inventions, like how the mugs were made of pewter.”

Tal Hemmings plays Peter Quince: “I really like history, so it's really fun having a musical that's made about history. But it's not really about history, but it's fun nonetheless.”

Thomas Roberts plays the Brother Jeremiah, a Puritan who sees sin in everything.

“I think the thing I enjoy most about this play is the interaction between the characters and seeing how they transfer emotion between the lines and the interactions,” he said.

Soleil St. Onge, who plays Robin, is quick to point out how the show is such an ensemble driven show that even those who don’t have lines outside of the songs are still a huge part of the production.

Sophia Fosberg said she wanted to be part of the musical because she saw “Beetlejuice Jr.” last year and the kids in it looked like they were having so much fun. Lilla Bladorn, similarly, said she enjoys theater and she’s enjoyed The Spot plays that she’s seen.

“When I heard it was a 20-day intensive, I was like, uh-oh, it's about to be a long one,” said Tucker Stangelini.

So, just how do the students manage to memorize their many lines, songs and dance moves given that school’s still ongoing?

“It's just a lot of practice, and you just have to find time and you have to manage your life and put commitments in the right order,” said Jack Cohen, who plays Nick Bottom. “This has been my No. 1 commitment because it is the best thing I can do at this time of year,  and I'm really grateful to be here. We had two free days where we didn’t have anything going on, and those days I learned most of my lines, just got those under my belt. The memorization I learn to do for plays helps me retain things in school, helps me learn quicker.”

McKenna Seitz noted that the directors give the youngsters dancing videos and other resources: “In the morning when I'm getting ready I watch them because it's all about planning and practicing out of rehearsal while also not overworking your brain because then you just can't take everything and it doesn't work out.”

 “The more I listen to something, the more it gets stuck in my brain. And I think that was really helpful, because I knew most of the songs by the time I got here,” added Aelexa Fowler.

Ask the youngsters what they’ve learned from their theatrical experience and they’re quick to shout out: Collaboration. Managing time. Speaking in front of people. Confidence. Patience. Memorization. Social skills. Being on time.

“I love the cast because I know everyone here is supporting me,” said Grace Logan. “I’ve gotten better at quick changes because, honestly, there’s a lot of them. And it’s raised my confidence.”

 “I’ve loved learning and growing in such a supportive environment,” said Riley Meyer, who plays one of the Portias. “The whole cast feels like family.”

Performances start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at noon and 4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $25--$15 for students under 18--available at https://www.spotsunvalley.com/.

THE CAST:

Tucker Stangelini and Jack Cohen play the Bottom Brothers; Van Flandro, Shakespeare; Georgie Payne, Nostradamus’ niece or nephew; Thomas Rex Roberts, Brother Jeremiah, and Mykala McCann and Grace Logan, Bea.

Others are Isla Salvatierra as Lord Clapham; Sophia Fosburg, Alicia Archibald, Lilla Bloedorn and Lillian Tillotson as the Grim Reapers; Hiram Johnson as Snug; Makena Seitz as a Master of Justice; Claire Anderson as a minstrel; Aelexa Fowler as a footman; Soleil St. Onge as Robin and the Queen; Tal Hemmings as Peter Quince and Broman Feldstein as Shylock.