Will Power! Nashville's Will Chase to Take Over for Christian Borle in Something Rotten! on Broadway

The writing was on the wall when it was revealed that Will Chase would not be appearing in another season of Nashville; instead he's coming back to Broadway! The stage and screen star is set to step in for Tony winner Christian Borle as William Shakespeare in Something Rotten! on July 18. Borle will play his final performance at the St. James Theatre on July 16.

Chase played the role of Shakespeare in the first reading of Something Rotten! before going on to star in Nashville. Tony nominated for The Mystery of Edwin Drood, his additional Broadway credits include Rent, Aida, Miss Saigon, The Full Monty, Lennon, High Fidelity, Billy Elliot, The Story of My Life and Nice Work If You Can Get It. On screen Chase has also been seen in Smash, The Good Wife, Necessary Roughness, Rescue Me, Pan Am, White Collar, Blue Bloods and more.

Set in the 1590s, the Casey Nicholaw-helmed show follows brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom, who are desperate to write a hit play but stuck in the shadow of that Renaissance rock star known as “The Bard.” When a 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.

Something Rotten! currently stars Rob McClure, Brad Oscar, David Beach, Edward Hibbert, Gerry Vichi and André Ward. As previously reported, John Cariani, Heidi Blickenstaff and Kate Reinders will also depart the show on July 16, and will be replaced by Josh Grisetti, Leslie Kritzer and Catherine Brunell.