Eric Sciotto Dons the Bard's Leather Codpiece in Something Rotten! on Broadway

It's hard to be the bard! Eric Sciotto, an original Something Rotten! ensemble member and Shakespeare understudy, will begin performances in the role in October 11. He is now set to play the character through November 6, after which the soon-to-be announced permanent replacement for Will Chase is slated to begin.

Prior to Something Rotten!, Scotto appeared in the ensemble of myriad Broadway productions, including The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Pal Joey, Cry-Baby, A Chorus Line, Sweet Smell of Success and 42nd Street.

The musical, which will close on Broadway on January 1, 2017, follows two brothers in 1590s England whose plays are upstaged by the rockstar bard Will Shakespeare. When a local soothsayer foretells that the future of theater involves singing and dancing, the duo set out to write the world's first musical.

The current cast also features Rob McClure and Josh Grisetti as Nick and Nigel Bottom, Leslie Kritzer as Bea, Brad Oscar as Nostradamus, Gerry Vichi as Shylock, Catherine Brunell as Portia, Edward Hibbert as Lord Clapham and Andre Ward as Minstrel.

Watch Sciotto dance through his résumé in a recent BroadwayBox feature below.