MONICA HOOPER
mhooper@nwaonline.com
We can’t even print some of the lines from “The Book of Mormon” in the newspaper.
Penned by the creators of “South Park” with the co-writer of the music from “Avenue Q,” the smash hit musical follows two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they attempt to spread the word of Joseph Smith to Ugandan tribesmen who have long forsaken sky gods due to AIDS, mass starvation and dictators. After the murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests around the country, Black actors on Broadway sent a letter to creators of “The Book of Mormon,” as well as the creators of “The Lion King” and “Hamilton,” asking for Broadway shows to avoid stereotypes and tropes of Black and African people.
According to the latest reviews of “The Book of Mormon,” the Ugandan characters now have more agency in the story and are more active in their salvation. As before, the Elders fumble along, especially the young sidekick, Elder Cunningham, who blends the story of Joseph Smith with pop culture references and Star Wars in an attempt to save souls (“Making Things Up Again”).
Elder Cunningham was originated on Broadway by Josh Gad — yep, Olaf from “Frozen” — and was often praised for his ability to bring to life the awkward and nerdy sidekick turned main character in “The Book of Mormon.”
In the few reviews of the current U.S. tour, Diego Enrico has received praise for his sincere and energetic performance of Elder Cunningham. More impressive is this is Enrico’s debut tour. He just graduated last year from Molloy University’s CAP21 Theatre Arts Conservatory, and he says his experience on the tour has been “chock-full of learning experiences.”
“In the first three weeks I had already done more performances than I had in my entire life before this,” he says in an email interview with What’s Up! He says he’s learning to care for himself — both physically and mentally — to keep up with the touring schedule.
“I’ve learned how to give a consistent show that I am truly proud of, every single night, and that is something I never expected to have so quickly. I have learned so much, but I still have a long way to go,” he adds.
Before joining the tour, he was a massive fan of the musical. Elder Cunningham is a dream role.
“I have videos of myself singing some of his songs in my garage just for practice when I was in high school, so it’s really a full circle moment for me.”
He admits his familiarity with the musical keeps him from breaking character, most of the time.
“… the biggest hurdle was experiencing new takes of lines and songs that I hadn’t seen before. Even now, when someone changes something small, or an understudy goes on and kills the delivery on something, sometimes I have to try my best to hide my laughter,” he says.
Enrico says Cunningham is “unimpeded by social expectations,” which he admits is a nice way of saying he’s awkward, but the character does his best to make others happy.
“Cunningham messes up a lot, but it’s not for lack of trying,” he says. “This is something I related to a lot. I lived in Lima, Peru, when I was growing up, so when it came time to move back to the United States, I not only left behind my friends and family, but also my ability to relate with people. It was hard for me to fit in with people, and my old tactics of making friends fell flat in a new culture. So I try to bring that feeling into the character, which makes it feel very natural for me.”
Rather than be offended at the brash humor and unyielding satire in “The Book of Mormon,” he hopes people have fun with the show.
“I think it’s beautiful to have such a wide range of people come and enjoy our show together. For a night everyone can forget about what’s happening in the outside world, they can leave their troubles at the door and just laugh and have fun. After all, ‘Tomorrow is a Latter Day,’ so let’s all be happy in the theater, together, if even just for a moment.”
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FAQ
‘The Book of Mormon’
WHEN — 8 pm Feb. 20; 8 p.m. Feb. 21; 2 (sold out) and 8 p.m. Feb. 22; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23
WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville
COST — $94-$134; ticket lottery open now
INFO — waltonartscenter.org
LOTTERY — Some $25 tickets are available through the Lucky Seat link at waltonartscenter.org from now until 9:30 a.m. Feb. 18. Random drawings start at 10 a.m. Feb. 18 and continue throughout the day. Winners will be emailed and have a limited time to purchase their tickets online. Lottery seats may be located anywhere in the theater. Those requiring accessible seating need to use the accessible seating checkbox on the drop-down menu when purchasing tickets.