Meet Autumn Hurlbert, star of ‘Something Rotten!’

Meet Autumn Hurlbert: Portia in ‘Something Rotten!,’ playing through February 18th at The National Theatre

‘Something Rotten!’ wrapped on Broadway just over a year ago, and since then, Autumn, with her husband and 2-year-old son in tow, has been traveling the country bringing laughter to audiences across America.

So what is it like portraying a naive yet rebellious Puritan by night and playing mom by day? Exciting by the sounds of it! Autumn describes how after over a year together, the cast still makes each other laugh during rehearsals, and the excitement her son gets traveling from city to city, especially exploring the local parks and zoos along the way! Like most working moms, Autumn works hard to keep that balance between her work and time with her family.

It is so interesting to speak with such a fabulously talented actress and hear that she embraces the same challenges and triumphs as most working moms. When choosing a role, she has to take into consideration the amount of time that will be spent away from her family, and the financial aspect of whether or not her pay would be commensurate to child care if needed.  She also knows she is setting a great example of a strong woman to her son. “I think it’s important, especially for boys, to see your mom is [an] awesome superhero/Wonder Woman who can be at home with you and do your school work with you and also work when she wants to and needs to.”

I could feel Autumn’s upbeat energy the moment we started talking so it was no surprise that her exuberance spilled over on to the stage.  Her character, Portia, falls in love with one of the Bottom brothers, a couple of playwrights searching for success in the theatrical world. Their only competition? A very contemporary Shakespeare! Hilarity ensues as the brothers try to out-write this “Russell Brand/Justin Beiber” version of The Bard.  Whether or not you are a fan of Shakespeare, the incredibly clever lyrics and dialogue will keep you entertained and laughing throughout the whole show!  The entire cast was brilliant and energetic, bringing a truly creative script to life! As described, “With 10 Tony^® nominations including Best Musical,,SOMETHING ROTTEN! is a “big, fat hit!”(New York Post). Set in the ‘90s – the 1590s – this hilarious smash tells the story of Nick and Nigel Bottom (Tony^® nominee Rob McClure and Broadway’s Josh Grisetti), two brothers who are desperate to write their own hit play while the “rock star” Shakespeare (Tony^® nominee Adam Pascal) keeps getting all the hits. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, Nick and Nigel set out to write the world’s very first MUSICAL! With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is “The Producers + Spamalot + The Book of Mormon. Squared!” (New York Magazine).”