It was 2011. Broadway was, frankly, a bit bored. Then came a show about two mismatched teenagers in short-sleeved button-downs sent to a war-torn village in Uganda to preach about a golden-plate-toting American prophet. Most people thought Trey Parker and Matt Stone—the chaotic geniuses behind South Park—would just deliver a two-hour fart joke. They didn't. Instead, with the help of Robert Lopez, they assembled a group of actors that basically redefined what "triple threat" meant for the modern era. The original Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon wasn't just a collection of talented people; it was a freak accident of perfect timing and specific comedic voices.
Honestly, if you look at the playbill from the Eugene O'Neill Theatre back then, it’s like looking at a sports "Dream Team" before they all became Hall of Famers. You had Andrew Rannells, Josh Gad, Nikki M. James, and Rory O'Malley. At the time, they were just working actors. Now? They’re the voices of Disney icons, Tony winners, and prestige TV leads.
Elder Price and the Andrew Rannells Effect
Andrew Rannells played Elder Kevin Price. He had this terrifyingly perfect "mormon face"—bright eyes, a smile that looked like it was carved from ivory, and a voice that could hit notes most tenors only dream about while having a mid-life crisis. When he sang "I Believe," it wasn't just a song. It was a masterclass in ego masked as religious fervor.
Rannells brought a specific kind of "Disney Prince gone wrong" energy that is incredibly hard to replicate. Most replacements for the role of Price tend to play him as either too arrogant or too sweet. Rannells hit that sweet spot of a guy who genuinely loves God but really loves himself more. His chemistry with Josh Gad was the engine of the entire production. Without that specific friction, the show is just a series of catchy songs.
Josh Gad as Elder Cunningham: The Chaos Agent
If Rannells was the straight man, Josh Gad was the Tasmanian Devil. His Elder Arnold Cunningham was a mess. He was sweaty, he lied constantly, and he was obsessed with Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Gad didn’t just play the role; he inhabited it with a level of physical comedy that was borderline dangerous.
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You’ve probably heard stories about how Gad would ad-lib. He did. A lot. He kept the show feeling dangerous and live. When he sang "Man Up," he wasn't just singing about being a hero; he was channeling every nerd’s desire to finally be the main character. It’s a performance that earned him a Tony nomination, and rightfully so. Replacing Gad has proven to be one of the hardest casting tasks in Broadway history because his "Cunningham" was so tied to his specific stuttering, manic delivery.
Nikki M. James and the Heart of the Show
People often forget that The Book of Mormon actually has a lot of heart, and most of that came from Nikki M. James as Nabulungi. Her performance of "Sal Tlay Ka Siti" is the emotional anchor of the first act. Without her, the show is just a satire. She brought a sincerity that made the jokes about the village’s hardships actually land with weight rather than just being shock humor.
She won the Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for a reason. She played the innocence without making the character look unintelligent. That’s a razor-thin line to walk. In the years since, many actresses have played Nabulungi, but James had a crystalline quality to her voice that made the dream of a "paradise" in Utah sound like the most beautiful thing in the world.
The Supporting Players Who Built the World
The original Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon was stacked deep. Rory O'Malley as Elder McKinley is the standout here. His performance in "Turn It Off" is a masterclass in repressed theatricality. He played a mission leader struggling with "unholy" thoughts with such a cheerful, tapping-on-the-outside-screaming-on-the-inside vibe that it became the show's most iconic comedic number.
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Then you had Michael Potts as Mafala Hatimbi and Lewis Cleale playing everything from Joseph Smith to Jesus Christ. The ensemble was a machine. Every single "Mormon" in that original lineup had to be able to tap dance, sing in tight four-part harmony, and keep a deadpan expression while singing lyrics that would make a sailor blush.
- Andrew Rannells: Elder Price
- Josh Gad: Elder Cunningham
- Nikki M. James: Nabulungi
- Rory O'Malley: Elder McKinley
- Michael Potts: Mafala Hatimbi
- Lewis Cleale: Joseph Smith/Mission President
Why the Original Cast Recording is the Gold Standard
If you listen to the cast album today, it still feels fresh. That's rare. Usually, cast recordings feel like a "lesser" version of the live show. But because the original cast was so involved in the development—some of them had been with the project for years of workshops—the performances are baked into the score.
The way Gad says "Hello!" in the opening number or the specific way Rannells holds the note at the end of "I Believe" are now the blueprints for every other production in London, Australia, and on tour. But they never quite match the original's bite. There was an edge of "are we actually allowed to say this?" in the 2011 cast that is hard to manufacture once a show becomes a global brand.
The Legacy of the 2011 Lineup
What’s crazy is where they went. Andrew Rannells went to Girls and The Intern. Josh Gad became Olaf in Frozen. Nikki M. James has been all over TV and returned to Broadway in Suffs. They became the new guard of the industry.
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When you look back at the original Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon, you’re looking at a turning point in musical theater history. It proved that you could be vulgar, blasphemous, and incredibly traditional all at once. It took a very specific group of people to make that tonal tightrope walk work. If the chemistry had been off by even 5%, the show might have closed in six months instead of becoming the decade-defining juggernaut it is today.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you’re looking to truly understand the impact of this cast, don’t just listen to the album. Seek out the early press performances from the 2011 Tony Awards or the early talk show appearances.
- Watch the 2011 Tony Awards performance: It’s the definitive version of "I Believe" and shows exactly why Rannells was a superstar from day one.
- Listen for the "Vocal Fry": Notice how Gad and Rannells used their voices as instruments of comedy, not just for "pretty" singing. It changed how comedic musical theater was cast for the next ten years.
- Compare the Casts: If you see the show today, pay attention to the "Cunningham." You'll notice almost every actor is still doing a variation of the "Gad" voice. It’s a testament to how much the original cast created the DNA of these characters.
The reality is that Broadway shows are living things. They change. They evolve. But for The Book of Mormon, that 2011 group set a bar so high that most productions are still trying to clear it. It wasn't just a show; it was a moment where the right people met the right material at the exact right time.
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