Broadway Buzz - The Book of Mormon

Leading up to the Tony® Awards June 12, let’s take a closer look at the four nominees for Best Musical. The first nomination takes us to Africa on a mission with a performance that is currently drawing standing room only crowds.

This year’s recipient of the most Tony Award nominations is The Book of Mormon. The show received 14 nominations, just one shy of the record set by Billy Elliot the Musical in 2009. The musical is the story of two young Mormon men who travel to Uganda on their mission to spread the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Along with being nominated for Best Musical, creators Matt Parker and Trey Stone ("South Park") and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q) are also nominated for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical.

In a recent interview with Jon Stewart from Comedy Central, Parker and Stone said The Book of Mormon was a project about seven years in the making. The interview covers when the “South Park” duo meet co-creator Robert Lopez, their childhood dreams of writing a musical and feedback they’ve received from the Mormon ticket holders.

Show stars Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad agree that once you get past the language the show is really a pro-faith story reflecting on religion in general. According to Rannells, “a lot of people were maybe initially mislead that it was going to be two hours of Mormon bashing but that’s certainly not the case at all.” Both Rannells and Gad are nominees for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical.

Say “Hello” to The Book of Mormon on Facebook for a free download of the show’s opening number!