Ensemble member Eric Sciotto, who understudies the role, will play Shakespeare October 11-23, according to a production spokesperson. A permanent replacement for Chase has yet to be announced.
As previously reported, the critically acclaimed production, directed and choreographed by Tony winner Casey Nicholaw, will end its run on Broadway January 1, 2017. Upon closing, the musical, which was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, will have played 742 performances. A first class U.S. national tour will officially launch January 17, 2017, at The Boston Opera House.
Something Rotten! began performances March 23, 2015, and officially opened April 22. It is the only new production from the 2014-15 season still running on Broadway.
Something Rotten! has music and lyrics by Grammy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Wayne Kirkpatrick and Golden Globe Award and Tony Award nominee Karey Kirkpatrick and a book by Tony Award nominees Karey Kirkpatrick and best-selling author John O’Farrell.
The cast, which was originally led by Christian Borle and Brian d'Arcy James, currently stars Tony Award nominee Rob McClure as Nick Bottom, Tony Award nominee Chase as Shakespeare, Theatre World Award winner Josh Grisetti as Nigel Bottom, Lortel Award winner Leslie Kritzer as Bea, two-time Tony Award nominee Brad Oscar as Nostradamus, Catherine Brunell as Portia, David Beach as Brother Jeremiah, Edward Hibbert as Lord Clapham/Master of the Justice, Gerry Vichi as Shylock and André Ward as Minstrel and features Matt Allen (Honeymoon in Vegas, The Wedding Singer), Callie Carter (Tuck Everlasting, Rock of Ages), Max Clayton (On The Town, Gigi), Elizabeth Earley (Mary Poppins tour), Eric Giancola (The Book of Mormon), David Hibbard (Elf), Jenny Hill (Spamalot), Leah Hofmann (War Horse, Big Fish), Stacey Todd Holt (Rocky), Aaron Kaburick (Motown The Musical), Tari Kelly (Anything Goes), Beth Johnson Nicely (Bullets Over Broadway), Brian Ogilvie (Gigi, Mary Poppins), Aleks Pevec (Aladdin), Hayley Podschun (Wicked, Chaplin), Sciotto (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Brian Shepard (Young Frankenstein), Ryan VanDenBoom (Annie), Matt Wall (Annie) and Marisha Wallace (Aladdin).
Check out the current cast of the original musical below:
The award-winning design team includes Scott Pask (scenic design), Gregg Barnes (costume design), Jeff Croiter (lighting design), Peter Hylenski (sound design), Josh Marquette (hair design), Phil Reno (music direction/conductor), Glen Kelly (arrangements), Larry Hochman (orchestrations) and casting by Telsey + Company/Bethany Knox, CSA.
“Welcome to the ‘90s — the 1590s — long before the dawn of premium tickets, star casting and reminders to turn off your cell phones,” according to press notes. “Brothers Nick (McClure) and Nigel Bottom (Grisetti) are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rockstar known as “The Bard” (Chase). When a local soothsayer (Oscar) 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! But amidst the scandalous excitement of Opening Night, the Bottom Brothers realize that reaching the top means being true to thine own self… and all that jazz.”
Something Rotten! is produced by Kevin McCollum, Broadway Global Ventures, CMC, Mastro/Goodman, Jerry and Ronald Frankel, Morris Berchard, Kyodo Tokyo Inc., Wendy Federman, Barbara Freitag, LAMS Productions, Winkler/DeSimone, Timothy Laczynski, Dan Markley, Harris/Karmazin, JAM Theatricals, Robert Greenblatt, and Jujamcyn Theaters.
Tickets to Something Rotten! are available at ticketmaster.com, by calling (877) 250-2929, and in person at The St. James Theatre box office (246 West 44th Street).
