The critically acclaimed musical comedy Something Rotten!, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw, ends its Broadway run January 1 with performances at 2 PM and 7 PM at the St. James Theatre.
Upon closing, the production, which was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, will have played 742 performances.
A national tour of the musical launches January 17 at the Boston Opera House following a preview period at Proctors in Schenectady, NY. Three of the current Broadway principals at the St. James Theatre will reprise their roles on tour: Rob McClure as Nick Bottom, Adam Pascal as Shakespeare, and Josh Grisetti as Nigel Bottom. They will be joined by Maggie Lakis as Bea, Blake Hammond as Nostradamus, Autumn Hurlbert as Portia, Scott Cote as Brother Jeremiah, and Jeff Brooks as Shylock.
“On behalf of all the producers, we are so grateful to an exceptional company and crew for a wonderful run,” producer Kevin McCollum said in an earlier statement. “It has been rewarding to have the opportunity to bring this completely original musical to the stage with Casey Nicholaw’s vision and to introduce new voices in the musical theater with Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell and Wayne Kirkpatrick. And we are thrilled to announce our campaign to make America laugh again with our national tour.”
Something Rotten! began performances March 23, 2015, and officially opened April 22. The next tenant at the St. James will be the revival of Present Laughter, starring Kevin Kline, which begins performances in March.
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 was originally led by Christian Borle and Brian d'Arcy James.
The award-winning design team included 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 and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rockstar known as “The Bard.” When a local soothsayer 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! was 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).
