Theater News

Christian Borle and Brian d'Arcy James Lead Something Rotten! to Broadway

Initial casting for the new musical has been revealed.

Christian Borle and Brian d'Arcy James will star in the new musical Something Rotten! at the St. James Theatre.
Christian Borle and Brian d'Arcy James will star in the new musical Something Rotten! at the St. James Theatre.
(© David Gordon)

Tony Award winner Christian Borle (Peter and the Starcatcher) and two-time Tony nominee Brian d'Arcy James (Hamilton) will lead the cast of Something Rotten!, the new musical by Wayne Kirkpatrick, Karey Kirkpatrick, and John O'Farrell that will make its Broadway debut this spring at the St. James Theatre. Directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon), the production will begin previews March 23, with opening night set for April 22.

A tribute to musical theater, Something Rotten! is set in 1590s England and follows Nick and Nigel Bottom, a pair of brothers who are desperate to write a play but are stuck in the shadow of William Shakespeare. When they're told by a local soothsayer that the future of theater involves singing, dancing, and acting at the same time, they set out to write the world's first musical.

D'Arcy James, who will soon be seen in Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Hamilton at the Public Theater, will take on the role of Nick Bottom. Borle, last seen as Mr. Darling and Smee in NBC's Peter Pan LIVE!, plays the character known as The Bard. He won a Tony for his performance as Captain Hook in Peter and the Starcatcher. Both men starred in a recent workshop of the musical and also appeared on NBC's backstage drama series Smash.

Full casting and members of the creative team will be announced in the coming months.

Wayne Kirkpatrick (music and lyrics) is the Grammy-winning songwriter behind Eric Clapton's "Change the World," as well as songs for Amy Grant, Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Joe Cocker, and Wynonna Judd, among others. Karey Kirkpatrick (book, music, and lyrics) has written the screenplays for the films Chicken Run, The Rescuers Down Under, and James and the Giant Peach. John O'Farrell (book) is the author of the novels The Best a Man Can Get and The Man Who Forgot His Wife, among others.

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