Broadway's SOMETHING ROTTEN! Gets a New Minstrel Tonight

Starting tonight, February 2, André Ward (Rock of Ages, Xanadu) will assume the roles of "Minstrel / Snug" in the ten-time Tony Award-nominated musical comedy SOMETHING ROTTEN! at The St. James Theatre.

Original cast member Michael James Scott (The Book of Mormon) played his final performance with the show on Sunday, January 31.

André Ward (Minstrel / Snug) has appeared on Broadway in Rock of Ages, Xanadu, Saturday Night Fever (original Broadway companies), The Producers and The Apple Tree (City Center). He has also starred in the national tours of Pippin (Leading Player), The Producers, Ragtime (Chicago company), Cinderella, Dreamgirls, and on the regional stage in Ain't Misbehavin' (Portland Center Stage), Putting It Together (Syracuse Stage), Lucky Duck (Old Globe), Elegies (Barrington Stage). Among his TV and film credits are My Dead Boyfriend, How to Follow Strangers, The Big Gay Movie Musical, World Trade Center, "Elementary" (CBS), "Difficult People" (Hulu), "Broad City" (Comedy Central), as well as the web series "High Maintenance," and "it could be worse."

The completely original new musical SOMETHING ROTTEN!, directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Aladdin), with 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, is playing on Broadway at the St. James Theatre (246 West 44 Street).

SOMETHING ROTTEN! currently stars three-time Tony Award nominee Brian d'Arcy James (Shrek, Spotlight), two-time Tony Award winner Christian Borle (Peter and the Starcatcher), Tony Award nominee John Cariani (Fiddler on the Roof), Heidi Blickenstaff ([title of show]), two-time Tony Award nominee Brad Oscar (The Producers), Kate Reinders (Wicked), David Beach (It's Only a Play, Fish in the Dark, Mamma Mia!), Edward Hibbert (It Shoulda Been You, The Drowsy Chaperone, "Frasier"), Gerry Vichi (The Drowsy Chaperone) and André Ward (Rock of Ages, Xanadu).

SOMETHING ROTTEN!'s ensemble features Matt Allen (Honeymoon in Vegas, The Wedding Singer), Elizabeth Earley (Mary Poppins tour), Eric Giancola (The Book of Mormon), David Hibbard (Elf), Jenny Hill (Spamalot), Courtney Iventosch (Wicked tour), Aaron Kaburick (Motown The Musical), Tari Kelly (Anything Goes), Austin Lesch (Violet), Beth Johnson Nicely (Bullets Over Broadway), Aleks Pevec (Aladdin), Angie Schworer (Big Fish), Eric Sciotto (The Mystery of Edwin Drood), Brian Shepard (Young Frankenstein), Brendon Stimson (Honeymoon in Vegas, Newsies), Chelsea Morgan Stock (Sister Act), Ryan VanDenBoom (Annie), Matt Wall (Annie), Marisha Wallace (Aladdin), and Bud Weber (Aladdin).

The award-winning design team of Broadway veterans includes 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.

From the co-director of The Book of Mormon and the producer of Avenue Q comes something original... something fresh... SOMETHING ROTTEN!, a world-premiere musical comedy about the musical comedy that started it all.

Welcome to the '90s - the 1590s - long before the dawn of premium tickets, star casting and reminders to turn off your cell phones. Brothers Nick (d'Arcy James) and Nigel Bottom (Cariani) 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 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.

With its heart on its ruffled sleeve and sequins in its soul, SOMETHING ROTTEN! is an uproarious dose of pure Broadway fun and an irresistible ode to musicals - those dazzling creations that entertain us, inspire us, and remind us that everything's better with an exclamation point!

SOMETHING ROTTEN! is 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.