You’d be right if you’ve read this show name recently in the Tri-City News.
Something Rotten!, a musical mounted last month by theatre students at Port Coquitlam’s Terry Fox Secondary under the direction of Zelda Coertze, is now making its way to Port Moody Secondary.
The production is the spring offering by the Musical Theatre 10–12 students in Jesse Meredith’s class, a Renaissance romp that centres on the playwright Bottom brothers struggling to keep up with The Bard.
Dreamed up by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick, the show is a comedy full of modern musical references.
And it’s the most ambitious theatrical presentation to come out of the high school in years, Meredith said, with a cast of 35 students and a crew of 25 who have worked on Something Rotten! since last September.
Meredith said the Grade 12 students picked the musical after whittling down their selections from 25.
“It was the best fit for the group that we had,” he told the Tri-City News on March 13 before a rehearsal. “It really didn’t matter that Fox was doing it too this year because it’s two different groups of students. It’s like we have two schools battling it out for attention as though they would during the Renaissance times.”
Still, despite the “competition,” the two schools have been supportive of each other's productions and have even swapped costumes and sets “because that’s what drama teachers do in our community,” he said.
Like at Fox, Port Moody Secondary’s musical will be double cast with David Jean-Richard and Dimitry Ksenofontov sharing the role of Nick Bottom; Gabriel Brandt and Tessa Gagnier taking on Nigel Bottom; and Michelle Kitainik and Jennifer Chen playing the character of the antagonist, William Shakespeare.
Ksenofontov and Chen said they saw Fox’s version last month and were impressed with the interpretation; however, they feel Port Moody Secondary’s iteration will have an edge under Meredith’s guidance.
For many in the cast, it’s their first time singing, dancing and acting on a stage before a paid audience.
Jean-Richard, 18, a Grade 12 student with ballet training who plans to study computer science at SFU in September, is making his stage début after he auditioned for a role with his girlfriend and his sister.
But for Gagnier, 17, a Grade 11 student, she said she’s pleased to be back — and with a starring part — for another presentation. Last year, she was cast as the Feldzieg understudy in The Drowsy Chaperone.
Gagnier said she doesn’t mind portraying a male character. “It’s common in theatre to mix [the genders],” the future art teacher said. “For Nigel, I feel like I can relate to this character a lot. It’s fun to play him.”
Something Rotten! runs at Port Moody Secondary (300 Albert St., Port Moody) on April 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11, 2025, at 7 p.m. Tickets at $10 can be bought via School Cash Online or via the school website.
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