Olivier Award-nominated star Marisha Wallace is today announced to join the company of the highly anticipated UK premiere of award-winning comedy musical Something Rotten!.ย
The side-splitting mash-up of song, dance and Elizabethan absurdity tells the story behind the creation of the worldโs very first musical and will open at the Manchester Opera House from 16 June to 19 July 2026, ahead of a West End run.
Actress and singer Marisha Wallace, acclaimed for her performances in shows including Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma!, Waitress and Dreamgirls, will star as the musicalโs leading lady Bea, having performed in Something Rotten! on Broadway before moving to the UK.
Regarding her casting, Marisha Wallace said:
โIโm beyond thrilled to have been cast in the UK premiere of Something Rotten!
โIt 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.
โI canโt wait to dive back in!โ
A Star-Studded Renaissance
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.
The production transports audiences back to the 1590s, when brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play while stuck in the shadow of the pompous Renaissance rock star 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.
Award-Winning Creative Team
Something Rotten! was 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 OโFarrell.
The show 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 JAS Theatricals.
This production is licensed by Music Theatre International. Manchester Abid has supported the Opera Houseโs Manchester Gets it First programme to help bring Something Rotten! to Manchester. The full cast is to be announced.
