Marisha Wallace joins cast for UK premiere of SOMETHING ROTTEN!

Photo credit: Jay Brooks and Rich Lakos

Olivier Award nominated star Marisha Wallace will join the company of the highly anticipated UK premiere of award-winning comedy musical Something Rotten!, which plays at Manchester Opera House from 16 June-19 July ahead of a West End run.

The side-splitting mash-up of song, dance and Elizabethan absurdity that tells the story behind the creation of the world’s very first musical.

Actress and singer Marisha Wallace, acclaimed for her performances in shows including Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, Waitress and Dreamgirls, will star as the musical’s leading lady Bea, having performed in Something Rotten! on Broadway before moving to UK.

She said: “I’m beyond thrilled to have been cast in the UK premiere of Something Rotten! It was pure joy to be a part of this hilarious musical on Broadway a decade ago – so now, to be joining this incredible company for the first time that UK audiences will get to see it, is a full-circle moment in the best way. I can’t wait to dive back in!”

Wallace joins the previously announced comedy, TV and musical theatre icon Jason Manford as Nick Bottom and star of stage and screen Richard Fleeshman as William Shakespeare.

Full casting is to be announced.

The ‘90s are back! The 1590s, that is. Brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but remain stuck in the shadow of that pompous Renaissance rockstar Will Shakespeare. When a quirky soothsayer foretells an outlandish future for theatre – full of acting, singing and dancing all at the same time – Nick and Nigel set out to write this strange new creation called A MUSICAL! But amidst the scandalous excitement of Opening Night, the Bottom Brothers discover that reaching the top means being true to thine own self… and all that jazz.

Created by the award-winning team behind Mrs. Doubtfire: The Musical: Grammy award-winning songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick, screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick, and best-selling author and comedy scriptwriter John O’Farrell, Something Rotten! was the toast of Broadway where it received 10 Tony Award nominations.

This new production, which follows the acclaimed 2023 WhatsOnStage Award-winning concert version, is directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson and presented by Broadway and West End producers, Kevin McCollum of Alchemation and Joshua Andrews of JAS Theatricals. This production is licensed by Music Theatre International.

To book tickets for Something Rotten! in Manchester, please click here.