Christian Borle, who won the 2015 Tony Award for his performance as William Shakespeare in Broadway’s Something Rotten!, departs the Broadway musical July 16. Also taking their final bows are original cast members Heidi Blickenstaff, Kate Reinders and John Cariani.
Borle will next star in the Broadway revival of Falsettos, which begins October 27 at the Walter Kerr Theatre.
He’ll be succeeded by Will Chase (Smash, Aida, The Full Monty), who will begin performances July 18 alongside previously announced new cast members Catherine Brunell (Portia), Josh Grisetti (Nigel Bottom) and Leslie Kritzer (Bea).
Chase originally played the part of Shakespeare in one of the first readings of the musical, prior to his casting in the television series Nashville.
SHAKESPEARE GETS WILD IN SOMETHING ROTTEN!
“We're thrilled to have Will Chase playing Shakespeare,” producer Kevin McCollum said in a statement. “He actually played the part in the very first reading before Hollywood came calling for him to star in Nashville. We were privileged enough to have the brilliant Christian Borle take home a Tony for his inspired performance and now look forward to having Will come home to the role."
Something Rotten! has music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick. The latter collaborated on the musical's book with John O'Farrell.
Helmed by Tony Award-winning Aladdin and The Book of Mormon director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten! earned ten 2015 Tony Award nominations, including Best Score and Best Musical.
Visit RottenBroadway.com.
(Updated July 16, 2016)
