William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is a major character and the main antagonist of Something Rotten. Loosely based off of the real Renaissance writer of the same name, Shakespeare will do anything he can to maintain his status as the most famous and successful writer in England.

Role
Shakespeare is first seen during “Welcome To The Renaissance”, albeit with his back turned towards the audience. The Minstrel and the ensemble exclaim that he’s the greatest writer in England, talking about how he’s a fantastic writer and actor. During “God I Hate Shakespeare”, Nick Bottom tells the members of his troupe and his brother Nigel the numerous problems he has with Shakespeare, much to their annoyance and anger. However, Nick later laments to himself that he wishes he was more like Shakespeare, leading him to pay soothsayer Thomas Nostradamus to tell him what Shakespeare’s next big play will be. Meanwhile, Nigel meets the daughter of a Puritan priest Portia and excitedly tells her that he has a letter from Shakespeare himself. The pair are interrupted by Shakespeare’s messenger who tells Nigel that he has an invitation to see Shakespeare’s concert in the park. Finally, Shakespeare faces the audience for the first time for his song “Will Power” where he brags about his many works and writings while accompanied by an entourage of four dancers. After his performance, he shows up to an after party for him and quickly sets his attention on Nigel. Knowing that Nigel’s just as good of a writer as he is, Shakespeare takes his portfolio and begins to read it in front of the attendants. Nick arrives in search of Nigel and begins to call out Shakespeare for attempting to steal Nigel’s work and pass it off as his own. Shakespeare insults Nick for not being able to write a successful play, reminding him that he was once an actor for his troupe. They enter a heated argument about their skills, however Shakespeare’s quick wits give him the upper hand. Before anything goes too wrong, Puritan leader Brother Jeremiah enters in search of his daughter Portia. Shakespeare quickly flees the scene, often accompanied by a member of his entourage. The final time he’s seen during Act One is during Nick’s dream sequence “Bottom’s Gonna Be On Top”, in which he’s finally successful after the release of his new musical “Omelette”. Shakespeare arrives in hopes of defending his status, listing off his many plays, but is taken down when Nick reveals that Omelette is much more successful than any of Shakespeare’s own works. Shakespeare tells Nick that he truly is the better man and asks to partner with him on his next work, but Nick quickly brushes him off.

At the beginning of Act Two, the Minstrel tells the audience that Shakespeare is beginning to feel the pressures of success when he’s hit a writing block. Shakespeare and his entourage enter and Shakespeare sings “It’s Hard To Be The Bard”, a lament of how he’d much rather be famous than have to work for fame. As he reaches a boiling point, his messenger appears followed by a spy that Shakespeare hired to keep tabs on Nick. The spy explains that he saw Nick pay Nostradamus to find out what Shakespeare’s next hit will be, angering Shakespeare. He decides to weasel his way into Nick’s troupe himself by disguising himself as “Toby Belch”, a bearded actor from York. When he arrives, he finds out that Nick and Nigel are writing Omelette and he wonders how he could ever come up with something so idiotic. However, he pretends to be a fan of Nick’s to stay on his good side, quickly landing a role in the Bottom’s play. Later, Nigel returns with new material he penned after Portia told him to write from his heart. Shakespeare, still in disguise, stays on Nick’s side, explaining he thought that the breakfast concept was strong. However, he tries to keep some of Nigel’s writings for himself, only to be foiled by the brother’s taking the papers back. When Nigel storms out after arguing with Nick, Shakespeare quickly chases after him. As Toby, Shakespeare finds Nigel and comments that he didn’t get to read everything he wrote. Nigel explains that he has good thoughts but can’t put them into words and says that Shakespeare was the one who actually wrote Omelette. Shakespeare pretends to be a fan of the bard’s writing as well, making references to his fame and riches, before leaving Nigel alone. A few seconds later, Shakespeare removes the disguise and returns to Nigel, telling him how much of a coincidence it is that they met. He says that he’s excited to see Omelette and that he’s recommended it to all of his friends, confusing Nigel. Shakespeare takes a look at Nigel’s writings, filled with quotes that would later be associated with Shakespeare. He tells him that despite the work being good, it has no real originality. Taking the papers with him, he tells Nigel to focus on Omelette instead of what he wants to write. Finally, Omelette makes it’s debut in the world of theatre. Shakespeare, as Toby Belch, plays Scar, Eggbert’s (Nick) evil uncle who has now taken over their kingdom. After the big number “Make An Omelette”, Nick attempts to begin the next scene, but is interrupted by Shakespeare. He takes off his disguise, shocking the cast and angering Nick. He tells the audience that Omelette was made from his ideas, although he resents the idea he could’ve come up with something like that. He than promotes the opening of his next play, Richard the Second, before exiting, leaving Nick to deal with the damage. Nick finds himself on trial alongside Nigel, Nostradamus, and Jewish rent collector Skylock facing many charges including blasphemy, witchcraft, and “the provocative parading of eggs”. Their lawyer, secretly Bea dressed as a man, calls in Shakespeare as their witness. He tells the judge and jury that the group shouldn’t face beheading, but should instead be “banish-eded” to the new world, America. His charm goes over well in the courtroom, saving the brothers and their friends from death. However, Shakespeare tells them that he only wanted them out of his way and that he could’ve let them die, angering Nick and Nigel. Nigel is reunited with Portia, who chooses to leave England with the Bottoms and crew and he happily responds with “All’s well that ends well.”, which Shakespeare quickly makes clear he’ll use in his own writings. The Bottom’s make it to America, only to be told by Shylock that Shakespeare’s new play has opened to great critical acclaim. When asked what it’s called, Nigel reads out the name: Hamlet.

Cast
Broadway

Trivia

 * Aside from Nigel Bottom, Shakespeare is the only major character not based on one from an existing play.
 * Nick and the troupe are named after the mechanicals from Twelfth Night, while Bea, Portia and Shylock are named after characters from The Merchant of Venice. Since both these plays were written after Something Rotten! takes place, it is implied that (fictional) Shakespeare named his characters after the people from the musical.
 * Additionally, this is referenced within the musical itself - during act one, Shylock remarks that the bard has offered to name a character after him.
 * When infiltrating the acting troupe, he takes the name "Toby Belch". This is a reference to a character of the same name from Twelfth Night.