Matt Loehr Replaces Rory O’Malley in NYC ‘Book of Mormon’

Matt Loehr just finished up a stint in the Broadway revival of “Evita” that closed January 26, and now he has taken over the role of Elder McKinley in the Broadway production of “The Book of Mormon.”

The musical is staged at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre, and Loehr took over the role from Tony Award-nominee Rory O’Malley, who played his final performance January 27. Loehr first performed in the musical on January 29.

In addition to “Evita,” Loehr has appeared on Broadway in “Elf,” “Promises, Promises,” “Mary Poppins,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” “Movin’ Out” and “The Producers.”

The current cast of “The Book of Mormon” includes Matt Doyle as Elder Price and Jon Bass as Elder Cunningham, and Nikki M. James, who originated the role of Nabalungi. O’Malley is the third original cast member to leave the Broadway production, following Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad. Both of those actors left in June of last year.

The musical follows two Mormon missionaries on a mission trip to Uganda.

The show is written by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who worked on the book, music and lyrics along with Robert Lopez, the co-creator and composer of “Avenue Q.”

“The Book of Mormon” won nine Tony Awards in 2011, including Best Musical, and is reported to have a regular house attendance of 102 percent. The production has set over 40 box office records at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre since it opened in March 2011. It is currently booked through January 2014.

Casey Nicholaw choreographs the production, and also co-directs along with Parker. The pair won the Best Director Tony Award in 2011. The rest of the creative team features costume design by Ann Roth, set design by Scott Pask, sound design by Brian Ronan and lighting design by Brian MacDevitt. Stehpen Oremus serves as music supervisor.