Clown Around with Something Rotten! Comedy Kings Brooks Ashmanskas, Peter Bartlett, Gerry Vichi & Brad Oscar

The new musical Something Rotten! is packed with hilarious stars, including four veteran funnymen that have a staggering 38 Broadway credits between them: Brooks Ashmanskas, Peter Bartlett, Gerry Vichi and Brad Oscar. These comedy all-stars have been creating show-stopping, knee-slapping performances for decades, and they’re making ‘em roll in the aisles once again in Something Rotten, a new musical about the very first musical in history. Broadway.com spent the afternoon clowning around at the St. James Theatre with these four Broadway greats!


BROOKS ASHMANSKAS
(Brother Jeremiah)

The secret to great comedy: Accepting that there isn’t one.

The funniest person in the cast: It rhymes with “LOOKS TRASHMANSKAS.”

The silliest thing I ever did as a kid: Thinking I’d grow up to be attractive.

The funniest person in my family: My dad.

The most hilarious movie of all time: The Deer Hunter.

The funniest part of my Something Rotten! costume: That lightning strikes when I put it on.

I will always crack up when I see... A man and a woman together.


PETER BARTLETT
(Lord Clapham)

The craziest costume I’ve ever worn: That bloody heavy clock as Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast.

The silliest thing I did as a kid: Grew up.

The funniest person in the cast: This is a rhetorical question, correct?

The funniest part of my Something Rotten! costume: That beautiful purple plume.

I will always crack up when... I see or read anything by the glorious Paul Rudnick.

Comedy I could sit through over and over: The film of Auntie Mame, my favorite scene being when Mame visits the Upsons in Darien.

I’ll do anything for a laugh, except... Self immolate.


GERRY VICHI
(Shylock)

The secret to great comedy: The secret to great comedy... The secret to great comedy, oh god, the secret to great comedy... the secret is repeating the same words over and over again.

The most hilarious movie of all time: Young Frankenstein.

The craziest costume I’ve ever worn: I was an egg hanging on a tree in an English chocolate commercial.

The funniest person in the cast: Brad Ashmanskas. If there was a war, you’d only need those two guys and the enemy would laugh themselves to death.

I always crack up when I see... Two people bump into each other.

My comedy hero: Sid Caesar. He was a fantastic mime and completely inventive on his feet.

I’ll do anything for a laugh, except... Take my clothes off. That would be the ugliest thing in the world.


BRAD OSCAR
(Nostradamus)

The most hilarious movie of all time: Arthur. 1981, not the remake.

The craziest costume I’ve ever worn: Baby New Year as the Emcee in Cabaret. Me in a big diaper and baby bonnet? Now that’s comedy...

The funniest person in the cast: I regret writing this already, but it’s Brooks.

The funniest person in my family: My sister Victoria.

The funniest part of my Something Rotten! costume: Me in it, hopefully.

My comedy hero: Beatrice Arthur

I’ll do anything for a laugh, except... Get naked.