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Book of Mormon cast as of late?

LizzieCurry

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Broadway Legend
joined:3/7/05

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#125
Posted: 6/2/14 at 11:18am

Former swing Daxton Bloomquist is the new Elder Michaels (taking over from Clark Johnsen).
https://twitter.com/daxbloomquist/status/473482355152130048

Circumstantial evidence suggests Ryan Breslin is the new Elder Thomas, but we'll find out soon enough, I guess. Book of Mormon cast as of late?

"I haven't even been following how Piangi, the least discussed character in the history of maybe anything, has come to dominate this thread." - Kad

ACL2006

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#126
Posted: 6/2/14 at 9:13pm

there was no announcement along with Barnhardt & Johnson, but Brian Sears has also left the cast. Might he be returning?? Ben Estus is in his track now.

A Chorus Line played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013.

ACL2006

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#127
Posted: 6/21/14 at 12:39pm

Brian Sears has returned to the cast, but only as the standby for Elder Cunningham & Elder McKinley. Current Elder Price standby K.J. Hippensteel will be leaving the Broadway company to play the role on tour.

adamgreer

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#128
Posted: 6/21/14 at 11:50pm

Is there a reason this show has two standbys for each of the two leads? Is this normal? Lots of shows have one standby for each of the leading roles (along with an understudy or two) but this is the first I'm aware of with two. Any particular reason?

My name is neither "adam" nor "greer."

haterobics

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joined:3/29/14

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#129
Posted: 6/22/14 at 12:04am

Probably related to the post above yours, where they seem to feed the tours with Broadway standbys?

Mcom

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joined:5/24/07

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#130
Posted: 6/22/14 at 9:07am

I saw the show on Tuesday. Both Elder Price and Cunningham were played by standbys. I didn't care for K. J. Hippensteel as Elder Price, but found A.J. Holmes to be fantastic. On a side note, I found that Sysesha Mercado lost all of the humor in that role. She fell really flat. Maybe it was just an off night.

AC126748

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#131
Posted: 6/22/14 at 9:16am

I agree about Syesha Mercado. I saw the show Wednesday and she was really phoning it in.

"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

LizzieCurry

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#132
Posted: 6/22/14 at 9:42am

On a side note, I found that Sysesha Mercado lost all of the humor in that role. She fell really flat. Maybe it was just an off night.

No, that's pretty much how she's been since the beginning.

"I haven't even been following how Piangi, the least discussed character in the history of maybe anything, has come to dominate this thread." - Kad

Mcom

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#133
Posted: 6/22/14 at 10:16am

Yikes. That's too bad.

LizzieCurry

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#134
Posted: 6/22/14 at 1:34pm

Compared to what I saw in Chicago and San Francisco, some of her early Broadway performances were a bit of an improvement, but not really. It is too bad; she's cute and has a nice voice, but she plays it like a ditz and just isn't that funny.

Oh, and in casting news, AJ Holmes and KJ Hippensteel will be headlining the first national tour for at least Detroit... www.broadwayworld.com/detroit/article/THE-BOOK-OF-MORMON-to-Say-Hello-to-Detroit-July-1-13-20140621?PageSpeed=noscript

"I haven't even been following how Piangi, the least discussed character in the history of maybe anything, has come to dominate this thread." - Kad

AC126748

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#135
Posted: 6/22/14 at 1:44pm

I was not overly impressed with Mercado's voice, either. I've never heard her sing before, so I don't know if she was ill or having an off day when I went. But her music didn't seem like a great fit for her voice, and there were a few times when I noticed she didn't seem to be singing in the right key.

I don't know if this was a sound design issue or not, but KJ Hippensteel was often very hard to hear when I saw it. None of the other performers seemed to be having amplification problems, though, so I wondered if his voice was just naturally small, even with amplification. I also didn't find him to be particularly funny.

Mcom

Swing
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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#136
Posted: 6/22/14 at 2:48pm

I agree about K.J. He was harder to hear. I didn't care for his voice from what I could here. He seemed to be trying far too hard to make things funny, which worked against him.

Holmes, on the other hand, was excellent. Nice voice and effortless personality. Detroit will be lucky to see him. I could see him becoming a permanent Broadway replacement Cunningham at some point.

I'm sad to hear that I didn't just catch Mercado on an off night. She was really wasted in a part that is funny and the heart of that show.

LizzieCurry

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#137
Posted: 6/22/14 at 3:20pm

I've seen KJ twice and he can be very polarizing. :) His voice is not particularly loud, but I do think he can be very funny, and the fact that he looks like a missing Romney son doesn't hurt either.

"I haven't even been following how Piangi, the least discussed character in the history of maybe anything, has come to dominate this thread." - Kad

LizzieCurry

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#138
Posted: 6/23/14 at 10:08am

Update: KJ Hippensteel will be Price on the 1NT for the next three months only: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=779839095380681&id=170699819627948

I wonder who's next in line?!

"I haven't even been following how Piangi, the least discussed character in the history of maybe anything, has come to dominate this thread." - Kad

andrcort

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#139
Posted: 6/24/14 at 1:52pm

Rob Colletti will be on as Cunningham tonight and both shows tomorrow and Brian Sears will be on the rest of the week. Anyone know when Ben is coming back?

LizzieCurry

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#140
Posted: 6/24/14 at 1:56pm

Sources: https://twitter.com/understudies/status/481471345247535104
https://twitter.com/understudies/status/481470911120302082

"I haven't even been following how Piangi, the least discussed character in the history of maybe anything, has come to dominate this thread." - Kad

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#141
Posted: 6/25/14 at 11:58am

I saw KJ at one of the performances I attended during my NYC trip last month. I thought he was pretty good and had no trouble hearing him. Also, though Syesha was fine, I'd rate her as my least favorite of the 4 Nabalungis I've seen.

I almost hate to rate the individual performers because, overall, I was incredibly disappointed with the Broadway performances I saw. There's far too much "auto-piloting" going on. Timing was slack, character bits were just tossed off, and the ensemble was sloppy and lacking energy. (At the 2nd performance, "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream" was such a mess, it looked like regional dinner theater.) This show deserves much better. And, at those prices, so does the audience.

After I returned from NYC, I went to see the 2nd National Tour in San Diego. Unlike what I'd experienced on Broadway, this cast was KILLING IT! And when this show is firing on all cylinders, it truly is "something incredible".

LizzieCurry

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#142
Posted: 6/25/14 at 12:12pm

The 2NT is so, so good.

"I haven't even been following how Piangi, the least discussed character in the history of maybe anything, has come to dominate this thread." - Kad

andrcort

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#143
Posted: 6/26/14 at 2:30pm

I'm thinking of doing standing room next wednesday July 2nd matinee. Does anyone know (or have a guess) who'll be on for Cunningham? Did anyone see Rob Colletti on B'way?

dreaming

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#144
Posted: 6/26/14 at 2:34pm

I am hoping to catch Nick Spangler as Elder Price at some point. (I just missed his last time in.)

nabajamba

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#145
Posted: 6/27/14 at 1:23am

andrcort: Yeah, I just saw Rob Colletti (who was great)! Rob's heading back on tour after this week, so either Ben Platt will be back or Brian Sears will continue to play the role.

andrcort

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#146
Posted: 6/27/14 at 1:42pm

Thanks for the info! Is it confirmed if AJ Holmes is in the tour for more than just the Detroit stop? This cast has been switching and swapping a lot recently.

andrcort

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#147
Posted: 6/27/14 at 9:21pm

New Nabalungi https://twitter.com/nikkireneesings/status/482692805429841920

What happened to Syesha?

Lots of cast changes recently!

oncemorewithfeeling2

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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#148
Posted: 6/27/14 at 9:46pm

Exciting! I've always thought Nikki Renee Daniels was very talented. Good luck to her in this role!

Syesha started her run in early January. Her contract may just have been up and Nikki was not announced.

Mcom

Swing
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Book of Mormon cast as of late?#149
Posted: 6/27/14 at 10:31pm

Excellent casting! Sad to have missed her.