<Tr> <Th> Premiere </Th> <Td> April 22, 2015 (2015 - 04 - 22): St. James Theatre </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Productions </Th> <Td> 2015 Broadway 2017 U.S. Tour </Td> </Tr> <P> Something Rotten! is an original musical comedy with a book by John O'Farrell and Karey Kirkpatrick and music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick . Set in 1595, the story follows the Bottom brothers, Nick and Nigel, who struggle to find success in the theatrical world, as they compete with the wild popularity of their contemporary William Shakespeare . </P> <P> The musical began with an idea that brothers Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick had had since the 1990s . They finally joined with John O'Farrell to write several songs and presented those songs and a treatment to the producer Kevin McCollum in 2010 . The team then joined with Casey Nicholaw, who brought in several of the actors, resulting in the workshop in 2014 . </P>

What is the broadway play something rotten about