The Book of Mormon: principal cast to stay with show

The Book of Mormon,s original principal cast, Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Nikki M. James, Rory O'Malley, Michael Potts, along with Lewis Cleale and Brian Tyree Henry, have extended their contracts with the 2011 Tony Award-winning musical through to Feb 2013.

The Book of Mormon will celebrate its first year on Broadway on February 24, 2012.

The musical opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on 24 Mar 2011, following previews from 24 Feb, and is currently booking through to 10 Feb 2012.

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 show won nine 2011 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and has been a box office hit with a regular house attendence of 102%.

The Book of Mormon stars Josh Gad as 'Elder Cunningham' and Andrew Rannells as 'Elder Price,' with a principal cast that includes Nikki M. James as 'Nabalungi' - who won a Tony Award for her performance, Rory O'Malley as 'Elder McKinley,' Michael Potts as'Mafala Hatimbi.'

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 make 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.