“Nashville” star Will Chase going back to Broadway

NEW YORK – Actor and singer Will Chase will be going from “Nashville” on TV to the Renaissance on Broadway. He’s taking over the role of William Shakespeare in “Something Rotten!”

Chase, who portrayed the country superstar Luke Wheeler on “Nashville,” will replace Christian Borle in the musical. Borle, who won a Tony Award in the role, plays his last performance on July 16. Chase starts two days later.

The comedy is set during the Renaissance and portrays Shakespeare as an arrogant, rock star playwright. Two brothers desperate to write a hit show in his shadow stumble on the notion of writing the world’s first musical.

Chase earned a Tony nomination for his featured role on Broadway in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” starred in “Nice Work if You Can Get It” and “High Fidelity” as well as “Rent,” ”Miss Saigon” and “Aida.” Chase has also starred in NBC’s first season of “Smash.”

“Something Rotten!” has music and lyrics by the brothers Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick. Wayne Kirkpatrick is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter of such tunes as “Change the World” for Eric Clapton and “Wrapped Up In You” by Garth Brooks. His brother helped write the film “Chicken Run.”

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Online: http://www.RottenBroadway.com

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Mark Kennedy can be reached at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits