Pictured: BillyD Hart, Jahir L. Hipps, Lauren Teyke, Cordell Cole, Kraig Swartz, Olivia London, Travis Keith Battle, and Jordan De Leon. Photo by John Jones.

This week, head over to Florida Studio Theatre to catch Something Rotten at Florida Studio Theatre. The musical comedy, which premiered on November 9th and recently saw its run extended to January 8th, follows two miserable brothers trying to run a theater company in 1592 Elizabethan England. Their biggest competitor? William Shakespeare.

Amongst the cast of the award-winning musical is Sarasota native Lauren Teyke, who is making her debut at Florida Studio Theatre.

“It’s been a really enjoyable experience, I’m enjoying being home. It is nice having people in the audience pretty frequently because they have access whereas on tour it’s harder because you can be really far away,” says Teyke. “It’s also nice to be able to take classes – my family owns the Ovation School of Musical Theater in Lakewood Ranch – and whenever I’m home I always go and take classes to keep up with my technique. It’s very convenient for me,” says Teyke with a chuckle.

Teyke, who recently made her Broadway national tour debut in Anastasia as Odette, is part of Something Rotten’s ensemble cast, meaning that she plays at least six different characters and wears over half a dozen costumes throughout the show. “Something Rotten is definitely a comedy, it’s extremely funny. The show heavily relies on musical references so musical goers will definitely get a kick out of it,” says Teyke. “I’m an ensemble member so I play a multitude of characters – I believe I have twelve costumes in this show and thirteen costume changes.”

Although such a task may seem daunting to some, it’s nothing that Teyke isn’t prepared for. “In the rehearsal process we take it part by part, one scene at a time. Given the circumstances, your blocking and lines and everything else, so you develop them individually and then you come up with your track and how you manage to do your costume changes on time,” says Teyke.

Box Office: (941) 366-9000, 1241 North Palm Avenue, Sarasota. https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/something-rotten.

Pictured: BillyD Hart, Jahir L. Hipps, Lauren Teyke, Cordell Cole, Kraig Swartz, Olivia London, Travis Keith Battle, and Jordan De Leon. Photo by John Jones.

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