The musical “Something Rotten!” hit the spot on a recent weekday afternoon as tourists and passersby gathered around the gurney set up in Times Square for the “With Your Hand in Mine” fundraiser for superstorm Sandy disaster relief.
The troupe from the musical was joined by its real-life stars, however.
Steve Greene and Erik Bogart, the leads in the irreverent musical comedy, kicked things off by pretending to operate the machine that had hooked them up to the gurney.
Then came many guest stars.
Joseph A. Fields and Ellie Dense, who play Love and Juliet, respectively, in the musical, joined in the musical number. Their appearance was not planned in advance.
Mr. Bogart’s scene partner as Nigel Bottom, Uzo Aduba, played the blind pianist Melville Cowley.
Actor Dante Basco, who plays Nigel’s nephew Nigel, Stephen, came up and signed a homemade “Movember” shirt, which he sported the rest of the show.
In the play, the members of the fictitious Shakespearean company founded by Nigel Bottom — and Nigel, in real life — perform “Something Rotten!”
More unexpected visitors arrived: an Adele impersonator.
Come to think of it, musical numbers are a great way to make connections.
