Andre Ward Will Don Ruffled Sleeves; Broadway Alum Enlisted for Something Rotten!

André Ward will be welcomed to the Renaissance on February 2, when he begins performances in Something Rotten! The Broadway alum is set to assume the roles of Minstrel / Snug, taking over for Michael James Scott, who departed the musical comedy on January 31. The production is playing at the St. James Theatre.

Ward has previously been seen on Broadway in Rock of Ages, Xanadu, Saturday Night Fever and The Producers. He joins a cast including Brian d’Arcy James, Christian Borle, John Cariani, Heidi Blickenstaff, Brad Oscar, Kate Reinders, David Beach, Edward Hibbert and Gerry Vichi.

Directed by Casey Nicholaw, Something Rotten! features a score by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick and a book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell. Set in the 1590s, the show follows brothers Nick (d’Arcy James) and Nigel (Cariani) Bottom, who are desperate to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rockstar known as “The Bard" (Borle). When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theater 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.