New Shakespeare-Flavored Musical Something Rotten! Sets Broadway Dates

Something Rotten!, the new musical by Wayne Kirkpatrick, Karey Kirkpatrick, and John O'Farrell, 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 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.

Full casting and members of the creative team will be announced in the coming months. A recent reading of the musical starred Tony winner Christian Borle, John Cariani, Allen Fitzpatrick, Brian d'Arcy James, Tony winner Beth Leavel, Brad Oscar, Kate Reinders, Jeff Steitzer, and Gerry Vichi. Kevin McCollum serves as lead producer.

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.

For the first three performances of Something Rotten!, every seat in the St. James Theatre will be sold at the price of $15.95, the year the piece is set. A previously scheduled pre-Broadway run at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre has been dropped from the show's plans.

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