Brian d'Arcy James and Christian Borle talk 'Smash' in exclusive promo for 'Something Rotten!'

Brian d’Arcy James and Christian Borle, who star in the upcoming Broadway musical Something Rotten!, are both Broadway stars, but they have another thing in common: NBC’s gone-but-not-forgotten show Smash. Only in the following exclusive promo, Borle doesn’t necessarily remember that James was his co-star. 

The lighthearted rivalry on display works in the context of the musical, in which James plays Nick Bottom, a struggling playwright in Rennaissance England who has beef with Borle’s character, the Bard. In fact, Nick even sings a song called “God I Hate Shakespeare.” 

The show, which starts performances March 23, has music and lyrics from Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, a book by Karey and John O’Farrell, and is directed by Casey Nicholaw of The Book of Mormon. 

Watch below as James and Borle try some on-the-street promotion. 

• By Esther Zuckerman