Will Chase, Josh Grisetti & Leslie Kritzer Begin Performances in Something Rotten! on Broadway

Will Chase, Josh Grisetti and Leslie Kritzer will be welcomed to the Renaissance on July 18! The trio join the cast of Something Rotten! as Shakespeare, Nigel Bottom and Bea, respectively. On that same day, ensemble member Catherine Brunell will take over the role of Portia. They step in for Christian Borle, John Cariani, Heidi Blickenstaff and Kate Reinders.

Curious to see Chase's take on the Bard? Watch his first performance of “Will Power” live on Facebook at 7:45 PM here.

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.

Grisetti last appeared on Broadway in It Shoulda Been You; his additional credits include Broadway Bound on the Main Stem and Enter Laughing, Rent, Peter and the Starcatcher and Red Eye of Love off-Broadway. Kritzer recently received a Lucille Lortel Award for her performance in The Robber Bridegroom off-Broadway. On the Great White Way, she has appeared in Elf, Sondheim on Sondheim, A Catered Affair, Legally Blonde and Hairspray. Brunell understudied the role of Portia; she has previously appeared in Les Miserables, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Big River, A Tale of Two Cities, Mary Poppins and Elf on Broadway.

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.