It’s been a long 19 months since Daniel Andrews MP, Premier of Victoria, announced that Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s blockbuster musical The Book Of Mormon was heading to Melbourne, and today we can finally reveal the cast for the Australian premiere production.
Winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, the Grammy for Best Musical Theatre album and four Olivier Awards including Best New Musical, The Book of Mormon has already broken the house record for the highest selling on sale period of any production in the Princess Theatre’s 159-year history.
The first Australian cast will be led by Canadian Ryan Bondy as Elder Price and American A.J. Holmes as Elder Cunningham, who have previously appeared in the same roles on Broadway, in the West End and across America. Australian actor Blake Bowden (South Pacific, Moonshadow) will be Elder Price Standby and Squabbalogic Artistic Director Jay James-Moody (Mid Summer Nights Dream) will be Elder Cunningham Standby. It is likely that this international casting will cause controversy within the industry and among its supporters, especially given the recent outrage about importing artists for leading roles in musicals such as Aladdin and Kinky Boots.
The leading cast are joined by Zahra Newman as Nabalungi (Miss Julie, The Mountaintop), Bert LaBonté as Mafala (Dream Lover, Winners and Losers) and Rowan Witt as Elder McKinley (Into the Woods, South Pacific).
Other cast members include 2015 Rob Guest Endowment Winner Daniel Assetta, Andrew Broadbent as Price’s Dad/ Joseph Smith/ Mission President, Augustin Aziz Tchantcho as General, Camille Eanga–Selenge, Donell James Foreman, Eddie Grey, Phyre Hawkins, Antwaun Holley, Matt Holly, Todd Jacobsson, Justin Lonesome, Mitchel Mahony, Loredo Malcolm, Joshua Mulheran, Morgan Palmer, Elenoa Rokobaro, Joshua Russell, Ryan Sheppard, CoCo Smith, Timothy Springs, Cessalee Stovall, Teddy Trice, Brinie Wallace and Jamaal Wilson.
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What?! No Aussies in the leading roles? #fail
So where is the australian cast again??
I agree that it's disappointing to no see Aussies do their thing, but AJ Holmes is a brilliant Elder Cunningham. That said, I can't wait for Jay James Moody to take the reigns and make it his own.
Heidi, do Nabulungi and McKinley not count?
This is a terrible and unjustifiable precedent. Congratulations to the Australian cast but those two lead roles to imports is a real slap in the collective face of this industry and the number of actors who could have filled these roles.
Controversial decision ? Absolutely.
What's in a name, I ask you? If you don't have one in the industry - you don't get the job. If you do get one, then you get to play second fiddle to overseas talent? I don't begrudge the overseas talent because obviously producers think NO ONE else can play that role like them... but then how about sharing it around and letting some of our talent on the stages of the world.
Hard to get a name if you don't get given the chance within your own country. Well done to those locals who have been cast. You show 'em.
Audiences love to see overseas artists in these shows. We regularly see overseas artists in Broadway shows - and
Cate Blanchett will be on Broadway with an all Australian cast and director in January. The winner of best female in
a musical (Tony) this year was a British artists from The Colour Purple (who was stunning in the role). When we saw Les Miserables twelve months ago Jean Valjean was British. Australian artists have appeared in West End musicals for years. Simon Gleeson, who played Jean Valjean so brilliantly in the Australian production is playing that role in the West End. Now surely they could have found someone who could have played it just as well according to your logic.
Producers have to take a punt on these shows and need to make money in order to put more on. I've seen the show and a few years ago and did wonder who could play it well enough in Australia. I will definitely go to see it again.
These are not role with specific requirements or ethnic needs that we cannot fill. There are literally dozens of talented, experience Aussies who could play both these roles. And this bit of pandering in announcing the covers - how often have you heard them announce covers in a casting announcement? They're COVERing their own butts here.
Equity either has no power or doesn't care. This would never be allowed to happen under the jurisdiction of US Equity, not without fair and specified exchange.
I think Equity should lodge protests and possibly call for a boycott of this show.
Nice to see the comments here allow for a truly free debate, instead of censoring comments.
the recent run of imports for leading roles is now a joke. I refused to see the imported Superstar since it only had a couple of local stars in it. Aladdin I understood why we have an import to play the Genie but not Princess Jasmine! Now with Mormon it has gone too far. I am seriously reconsidering seeing it in Oz!