Gavin Creel to join Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon

Olivier Award winner and Tony nominee Gavin Creel will reprise his role of Elder Price in the Broadway company of the 2011 Tony Award-winning musical The Book of Mormon on 6 January 2015. Nic Rouleau will play his final performance as Elder Price on 4 January 2015.

Gavin Creel earned Tony nominations for Best Actor in a Musical for his performances as Claude in 'Hair' (2009) and Jimmy Smith in 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' (2002). He has also appeared on the Great White Way as Jean-Michel in 2004's 'La Cage aux Folles.' Off-Broadway he has appeared in 'Bat Boy: The Musical' at Union Square Theatre. In London's West End, he won the Olivier Award this year for his portrayal of Elder Price in 'The Book of Mormon'. Other West End credits include 'Hair' and 'Mary Poppins.' He has also played the role of Elder Price in Toronto and on the National Tour.

The principal cast for The Book of Mormon currently stars Nic Rouleau (Elder Price), Ben Platt (Elder Cunningham), Nikki Renee Daniels (Nabulungi), Grey Henson (Elder McKinley), and Daniel Breaker (Mafala).

The Book of Mormon opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on 24 March 2011, following previews from 24 February, and is currently booking through to 2 August 2015.

The show opened to excellent reviews: Bowls you over (newyorktheatreguide); Pleasure-giving musical (NY Times); Blissfully original, irreverent, outspoken and hilarious (NY Daily News); A hit (NY Post); Hysterically funny and tunefully irresistible (NY1).

The Book of Mormon follows "a pair of mismatched Mormon boys sent on a mission to a place that's about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get."

The Book of Mormon features book, music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. Parker and Stone are the four-time Emmy Award-winning creators of Comedy Central's landmark animated series, 'South Park.' Tony Award-winner Lopez is composer and co-creator of the long-running hit musical comedy, 'Avenue Q.'

The musical won nine 2011 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and has been a box office hit with a regular house attendence of 103%.

The show is choreographed by Casey Nicholaw and directed by Nicholaw and Trey Parker - joint winners of the 2011 Tony Award for best direction of a musical.

The Book of Mormon's creative team features set design by Scott Pask, costume design by Ann Roth, lighting design by Brian MacDevitt and sound design by Brian Ronan. Orchestrations are by Larry Hochman. Music supervision is by Stephen Oremus.

Parker and Stone made their Broadway musical writing debut with The Book of Mormon. Parker and Stone have won four Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award for 'South Park,' the team's controversial, critically acclaimed series, which airs on Comedy Central.

- by Tom Millward