Behind the Scenes: Something Rotten!

BY: Michael Woody
last updated 03/16/2018
Behind the Scenes: Something Rotten!

This is the first national tour for Burroughs, whose previous credits include Kinky Boots on Broadway and the Netflix series, The Get Down.

Behind the Scenes: Something Rotten!

Behind the Scenes with Nicholas Rashad Burroughs

Have you ever wondered how the very first musical came to be? Probably not. However, the creative and wacky minds behind Something Rotten did, resulting in a hilarious hit musical. Set in the Elizabethan Era, Something Rotten tells the story of the Bottom Brothers, two playwrights, stuck behind the shadow of the illustrious Shakespeare. From a soothsayer the siblings are advised that their key to stardom is to combine singing, dancing, and acting into one show…resulting in them setting out to form the first musical. Hailed as “the funniest musical comedy in at least 400 years” by Time Out New York, Something Rotten will be at the Schuster Center, March 20-25.

Nicholas Rashad BurroughsThe fun begins when the Minstrel, played by Nicholas Rashad Burroughs, takes the stage to perform the opening number, ‘Welcome to the Renaissance.’  The song sets the tone for the fun-filled journey to come and is a pleasure for Burroughs to sing each night. “It’s a very fun show with some big dance numbers and lots of laughs. It makes it a pleasure to come to work every night,” he said.

Though enthusiasts of the theatre will especially enjoy Something Rotten, everyone in attendance is guaranteed to find much humor in it. “The show is really a love letter to musicals, but there are lots of laughs for everyone, regardless of their relationship to musicals,” said Burroughs.

This is the first national tour for Burroughs, whose previous credits include Kinky Boots on Broadway and the Netflix series, The Get Down. He’s enjoyed the opportunity to travel across the world and share so many experiences with fellow cast members, including going to a wolf sanctuary where they petted wolves. “Everyone us so adventurous, it is fun to explore all the different cities during the day and seeing what we can get into,” he said.

An athlete through most of high school, Burroughs exceled in both football and track, until he auditioned for a musical as a joke and found his true calling. Now in Something Rotten, Burroughs kicks-off the action with the opening number and continues playing hard until the curtain drops.

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