JADAR

Ahead of the UK premiere of Something Rotten!, we sat down with leading lady Marisha Wallace, who has been with the show since its inception, leaving the role of Eggie White on Broadway to play the real Effie White in Dreamgirls on the West End, before starring as Bea Bottom in the West End concerts and now the first fully staged British production in Manchester.

Could you tell me a bit about your character and the show?

“Well, I play Bea Bottom, Nick Bottom’s wife. So, the Bottom Brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, are writers who are trying to come up with the best thing in theatre. But we have this pariah, Shakespeare, who’s kind of like the Justin Bieber or the Lin Manuel Miranda. The person who’s just killing it. And then all the other guys are like: ‘Dang, how can I be as good as that?’.
And we’ve all felt like that… where you’re doing something and, you see someone who’s ‘the best’, but you don’t know that they have their own things going on.

“So, they go to a soothsayer to try to figure out what the next big thing in theatre is. And he tells them it’s going to be musicals. And they were like: ‘Well, what is a musical?’. So they go on this journey to try to write the first ever musical.

“And it’s all about being true to yourself, but it’s also about family and about believing in your own artistry and your talent. And I think everyone can relate to that because we’ve all doubted ourselves or didn’t think that our ideas were good enough, but you are enough. That’s what the show is really about.”

And you’re not a newcomer to Something Rotten!

“No, no, I’ve been doing this a long time! So, I did it on Broadway 10 years ago, and it was actually the show I left with two days notice to come to London to do Dreamgirls and play Effie. So, in Something Rotten, I was the Eggy White character in which I sang, ‘And I’m telling you, I’m not going to be an omelette”. And then it became the real Effie White!

“It’s just been crazy. It’s like, I’m doing it, but I still can’t believe that it’s come back in my time, and that it’s back in its full production with the same writers and the same producers. When they called me to do it… it’s that kind of show that you would just come back because it just has so much love in it. It really changed my life.”

And how does it feel seeing that trajectory over the years?

“Well, it’s been amazing because I went from the ensemble to the leading lady, and I’m so happy that I’m going to be people’s first Bea. And that character had such a profound effect on a lot of women because she’s like the first feminist. She says she’s going to get a job. She’s out there being one of the boys. I play different boy characters in the show. And just women in comedy, period, is really not that popular. It’s kind of rare to see women in lead roles being funny. And I think for me, to go head-to-head with Jason Manford, who is one of the best comedians we have. We go toe-to-toe, and we have such a great time. It’s really, it’s really fun to do as well.”

How is it working with Jason and Richard again?

“It’s so amazing!

“Well, I did Guys and Dolls with Celinde, Richard’s wife, so I’ve always loved him anyway. He’s like my brother. And then I got to do the concert with Jason [and Richard], and we became fast friends from that as well. So, it’s just been like reuniting with some cool people, and they’re just no egos, which you would think there would be when people are this talented. It makes you so comfortable to play. And I think that’s why the show is so good, because we can play and try new things. If somebody has a suggestion, we do it. You just feel free.

“Jason’s like, ‘Can we do that faster?’ Or ‘Can we try that?’ Even in the moment, we’ll change it and we’ll try and tighten it. He’s like, ‘Well, you’re the queen of musical theatre,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, you’re the king of comedy’! So, together, we’re a really good match.”

I mean, you were all phenomenal out there in rehearsals

“It’s so funny because as soon as we start the scene, it just clicks into play.”

What makes the show special to you? What do you think is unique about it for an audience to go and see? 


“Well, what is unique is that there’s no new musicals anymore. They’re so rare. You go into a show now, you already know the plot line. You already know the movie… which I think kind of ruins it, because I feel like you want to go to something and be surprised. So, people are going to come here and be like, ‘Oh, what is this?’. And it doesn’t go where you think it’s going to go. And it like gets more crazy and sillier as it goes on. But I feel like that’s what’s special about it. It’s new and you want to go be surprised and you want to bring your friends back. You’re gonna want to be like, ‘I saw this amazing thing. You have to come see this!’. I remember RuPaul and Michelle Visage and Tina Fey came so many times to see the show because it was new, and it was exciting to bring someone, because you think, ‘You’re gonna love this part!’”

If you could summarise the show in three words, what would they be?

“I would say it’s funny.

“I would say it’s a banger because all the songs in it are very incredible because Wayne [Kirkpatrick], who wrote the music with his brother [Karey], he writes pop songs. So, he’s written amazing pop songs for all these incredible people. So, every song he has is like a banger. It could be on a chart. It’s great!

“And then I would just say that it’s got heart. Because you can’t have comedy without heart. It has to be living in truth, and it has to live in a place of ‘I’m not doing this to make you laugh. I’m not trying to make it funny. It is funny.’ And that’s what’s cool.”

And even the writers are so talented!

“They’re so talented. They did Chicken Run. Do you remember Chicken Run?! It was massive. I was like, ‘How are you the people who wrote Chicken Run? That’s crazy!’”

But just having a team of actors and writers on a show like this is impressive

“The casting is insane. And our director [Tim Jackson], who’s just been nominated for a Tony for Two Strangers [(Carry a Cake Across New York)]. He is brilliant, and he can do everything. He’s a music director. He’s a music arranger. He’s a choreographer. He’s a director. The amount of talent we have coming into this space, it’s gonna blow the roof off the Opera House. It’s gonna be amazing.”

You can catch Marisha Wallace in Something Rotten! at Opera House Manchester until July 19.