Something Rotten

Choreography Style / Approach

Big, bold Broadway style with tongue-in-cheek flair. The movement was packed with musical theatre references, including tons of classic tap, jazz hands, chorus lines, and Renaissance-meets-modern comedy. Choreography played a huge role in the show’s humor, leaning into spectacle while never taking itself too seriously. Since Nostradamus “sees into the future,” I layered in playful nods to pop culture — including a bit of “Beat It” (Michael Jackson), TikTok-inspired dance moves, and a Ninja Turtles moment during Brother Jeremiah’s number. The show invited that kind of absurdity, and the references landed perfectly with the audience.

Something Rotten

Venue / Company

Opera House Players, CT

Year

2021

Role

Choreographer

Cast Description

16 Performers; Community Theatre

Choreographed Numbers

  • Welcome to the Renaissance 
  • A Musical
  • Will Power
  • Bottom’s Gonna Be on top
  • Hard to Be the Bard
  • It’s Eggs!
  • We See the Light
  • Something Rotten!/ Make an Omelette
  • Finale

Challenges / Innovations / Notable Moments

  • Taught Most of this Show ONLINE. This was our first production back since COVID-19 shut down live theatre and in-person gatherings. I choreographed the majority of the show remotely, providing detailed notes and spacing references to the cast via PDF and teaching all movement through Zoom. My son, Ethan, assisted in demonstrating partner work so actors could see both parts of each sequence clearly. When we finally gathered in person, I was genuinely impressed by how prepared everyone was. The cast had clearly done the work. We didn’t simplify the choreography to accommodate remote learning — if anything, we added more complexity and precision than what’s typically done with this show.
  • Pacing & Comedy Timing: Much of the movement was tied directly to punchlines, so choreography had to land in sync with the humor/physical comedy and dance precision.
  • Dance References Galore: “A Musical” featured nods to Cats, Les Mis, Fosse, and more. Each section required genre-specific vocabulary while still flowing as one cohesive number.
  • Tap-Heavy Numbers: Several songs featured intricate tap work, so training the ensemble and maintaining rhythm clarity were essential.
  • Egg-cellent Visuals: “Make an Omelette” was a choreographic and scenic explosion. We had tap dancing eggs, chefs flipping magnetic eggs, and of course, an omelette.

Video Highlights

con·tact

Contact Us