“SONG AND DANCE AND SWEET ROMANCE!”

Wondering how two Renaissance-era thespians competing with Shakespeare for stage space happen to create an exhilarating new theatrical art form?

For one quite improbable answer to that question, see the rousing musical melting pot, “Something Rotten!” which opened Thursday at the Marriott Theatre Lincolnshire. Keenly directed by Scott Weinstein with robust choreography by Alex Sanchez, the story plays out in spirited fashion in 1590s London–with decidedly modern moorings–among effusive references to virtually every musical ever written.