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.

"David Armstrong, artistic director of 5th Avenue Theater, said ... that after the positive buzz surrounding the musical's workshop in October [2014], he and Mr. McCollum began discussing the possibility of the show bypassing Seattle in favor of Broadway.

"[2] The developmental lab took place in New York City in October 2014 with Casey Nicholaw as director and choreographer.

began previews on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on March 23, 2015, and officially opened on April 22, starring Christian Borle as William Shakespeare, Brian d'Arcy James as Nick Bottom, John Cariani as Nigel, Heidi Blickenstaff as Bea and Brad Oscar as Thomas.

It was directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw, with the sets designed by Scott Pask, costumes by Gregg Barnes and lighting by Jeff Croiter.

[5] The show also launched a Non-Equity national tour beginning on September 19, 2018 at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Columbus, Georgia.

[7] A Swedish-language production ran from November 8, 2018 to March 3, 2019 at the Wermland Opera in Karlstad, Sweden, directed by Markus Virta.

[11] A production in Germany played from November 7, 2023 to January 14, 2024, at The English Theatre Frankfurt, directed and choreographed by Ewan Jones.

[15][16] A concert staging played at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in London's West End on August 5 and 6, 2024.

Jason Manford starred opposite Richard Fleeshman, Gary Wilmot, Evelyn Hoskins and Marisha Wallace.

(the earlier production in Frankfurt, Germany was in English), premiered on November 16, 2024, at the Landestheater Linz with Gernot Romic as Nick Bottom and Christian Fröhlich as Shakespeare.

Nick asks him what the next big thing in theatre will be, and Nostradamus says that it will be "a musical", a play where the speaking stops, and the story is told through songs.

Lord Clapham is disgusted and deserts the troupe after Brother Jeremiah threatens to have Nick executed if he continues with his work.

Nick gets excited at the possibilities of success and dreams of a future in which crowds cheer for him and Shakespeare bows down to him ("Bottom's Gonna Be on Top").

Shakespeare shows the stress he faces while trying to write hits and manage his fame ("Hard to Be the Bard").

An excited Shakespeare decides to disguise himself as "Toby Belch" and audition for the brothers' troupe in order to steal the play.

He worries about their future together, but Portia reassures him by saying that everyone, even Nick and Brother Jeremiah, will change their minds about their relationship when they hear Nigel's beautiful sonnets ("We See the Light").

Saddened by the loss of his love, Nigel becomes inspired to write a completely different play that is revealed to be Hamlet.

Once the audience arrives, they perform a bombastic dance number that has many references to modern-day musicals such as The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera ("Make an Omelette").

Towards the end of the number, Shakespeare takes off his disguise and reveals Nick's plot, horrifying Nigel and the troupe.

In court, Nick, Nigel, Nostradamus, and Shylock are on trial and are about to be sentenced to beheading when Bea enters disguised as a lawyer.

She makes Nick confess that he stole from the Money Box and tells the judge that beheading him would be redundant because he has already lost his head.

"[22] The TheaterMania reviewer noted that the song "A Musical" "encapsulates the entire book-musical form in six hilarious minutes.

"[23] Variety also pointed out that the song "A Musical" "simultaneously celebrates and sends up everything we hold dear about this peculiar art form, from the 'jazzy hands' of Bob Fosse to the synchronized line dancing of the Rockettes.