Sater and Sheik also collaborated on "Nero", an eponymous musical based on the Roman emperor, which debuted in 2006 at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, featuring a book and lyrics by Sater and music by Sheik. The project was subsequently workshopped with New York Stage and Film at Vassar College in July 2008, starring Idina Menzel, Lea Michele, Jeffrey Carlson, and Michael Arden, under the direction of Daniel Kramer. It was workshopped again in 2015 at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Drama and Pittsburgh CLO, under the direction of Ed Iskandar.