Character guide
Nick Bottom
from Something Rotten!
Nick Bottom is a struggling Elizabethan playwright in Something Rotten!, the 2015 musical by the Kirkpatrick brothers, who tries to invent the musical to beat William Shakespeare.
- Show
- Something Rotten!
- Broadway premiere
- 2015
- Role
- Lead
- Music by
- Kirkpatrick Brothers
Who is Nick Bottom?
Nick is the older Bottom brother, a proud, ambitious playwright who cannot stand living in the shadow of the far more successful and celebrated William Shakespeare. Frustrated and broke, he seeks out the soothsayer Nostradamus for a glimpse of theater's future, setting the entire plot in motion when he decides to write the first ever musical before anyone else can.
Nick's stubborn pride and jealousy repeatedly get him into trouble, but his loyalty to his brother Nigel and his wife Bea, and his eventual willingness to admit his mistakes, keep him sympathetic despite his flaws.
Nick's role in Something Rotten!
Nick is a lead role and the show's driving comic engine, anchoring numbers like Welcome to the Renaissance and God, I Hate Shakespeare, which require strong belting and sharp comic delivery. As the character most fixated on outdoing Shakespeare, Nick carries much of the show's satirical energy.
Brian d'Arcy James originated the role on Broadway, bringing blustery frustration and comic exasperation to a character whose grand ambitions are constantly undercut by his own bad luck and worse decisions.
Nick Bottom: frequently asked questions
What show is Nick Bottom from?
Nick Bottom is a lead character in Something Rotten!, which opened on Broadway in 2015.
Is Nick Bottom a lead or supporting role?
Nick Bottom is a lead role.
Who wrote the music for Something Rotten!?
The Kirkpatrick brothers, Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, wrote the score.
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