County Players at The Falls Theatre

Auditions for Something Rotten!

AUDITIONS | JAN 11 & 12, 2026 | 7pm

MAY 2026

Fri & Sat 8pm | May 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16

Sun Matinee 2pm | May 10, 17

Sat Matinee 2pm | May 16

The Bottom brothers, two struggling playwrights in Renaissance London, need a hit. Easier said than done when your chief competition is local rock star, William Shakespeare. The Bottom brothers’ plan: write the world’s first musical! This rollicking song-and-dance extravaganza, nominated for ten Tony Awards during its smash Broadway run, sends up the Bard and Broadway and everything in between. Best of all, it can be enjoyed without CliffsNotes!

Something Rotten! is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. MTIShows.com

Audition Information:

Casting 20-25 actors/singers/dancers of all genders and races.

For vocal auditions, please prepare 16-32 bars of a song in the style of the show, and bring your sheet music for the accompanist. Wear comfortable clothes, and shoes for a dance audition. Experienced tap dancers especially needed.

Characters:

Nick Bottom: Struggling renaissance writer. Jealous of the success of William Shakespeare and will do anything to beat him. Nigel’s older brother. Married to Bea. Some tap.

Nigel Bottom: Sweetly naive young writer and poet. Insecure, gullible and easily manipulated. Falls in love with Portia.

Shakespeare: Renaissance rock star. Bigger than life (and he knows it.) Some tap.

Nostrodamus: Soothsayer whose vision of the future is slightly skewed. Eccentric. Nick consults with him to find his next great hit. Some tap.

Bea: Nick’s wife and “Right Hand Man.” Loves and supports him despite his questionable decision making. Strong leader and powerful woman who is quite persuasive when she wants to be.

Portia: Quirky Puritan girl who falls in love with Nigel over their mutual love of poetry and Shakespeare. Brother Jeremiah’s daughter.

Brother Jeremiah: Puritan leader and father of Portia. Deeply repressed. despises playwrights, poets and all things ungodly.

Minstrel: Narrator of the show.

Lord Clapham: Flamboyant theatre producer.

Shylock: Jewish landlord/tax collector who loves theatre more than anything.

Troupe (Tom Snout, Peter Quince, Snug, Francis Flute, Robin, etc): Actors in Nick’s theatre company

Ensemble: The ensemble will play many parts throughout the show.