arts&life
theater

Irreverent

Hello. The Book of Mormon isn’t saying goodbye any time soon.

JULIE SMITH YOLLES SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

W

Jacob Ben-Shmuel

48

November 29 • 2018

jn

hat’s a nice Jewish boy
doing in the army of the
church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints? Well, just ask his
casting agent.
Jacob Ben-Shmuel is spending
Chanukah in the D — at the Fisher
Theatre — Dec. 4-9 as the stand-
by for the co-lead character Elder
Cunningham in the Tony Award-
winning musical The Book of Mormon.
Cunningham is the best friend wan-
nabe to Elder Price, and their new-
found friendship is challenged when
they are sent on a two-year mission to
Uganda. Other lovable Jewish actors
who have taken on the coveted role
include Josh Gad and Ben Platt.
“Truthfully, there have been a lot of
Jewish Cunninghams over the years,”
says Ben-Shmuel, a native Californian.
“I think that, inherently, nice Jewish
boys tend to look a little different
from the nice Mormon boys, and the
character needs to stand out and not
fit in with the rest of the ensemble.
Elder Cunningham will do anything

JULIE YOLLES CONTRIBUTING WRITER

details

The Book of Mormon comes to the
Fisher Theatre in Detroit Dec.4-9.
(800) 982-2787;
broadwayindetroit.com.

to make the friendship work, which
makes him really endearing.”
Ben-Shmuel, 23, who credits
landing the scene-stealing role by
being in “the right place at the right
time,” graduated with a musical the-
ater degree from the University of
California, Irvine, in summer 2017
and started with The Book of Mormon
tour a few months later. While this
will be his first time in Detroit, Ben-
Shmuel says that Fisher theatergoers
may not even get a chance to see him
perform.
“The difference between my role as
the standby and an understudy is that
an understudy typically plays another
role in the show. The standby is the
first line of the defense, and we don’t
learn other roles. We are there every

night, backstage, prepared to go on
during an unforeseen sickness, injury
or while an actor is out on vacation,”
he says.
While in Detroit, Ben-Shmuel plans
to get a menorah.
“You keep the traditions alive
when you can, but it’s very hard on
the road,” says Ben-Shmuel, who just
celebrated his one-year anniversary
on tour with The Book of Mormon in
October.
When he visits his Israel-born father
in southern California, Ben-Shmuel
says that they go to temple together.
And while he didn’t attend Hebrew
school, he did have a bar mitzvah.
“My connection to my Jewish her-
itage is very strong. My mom isn’t
Jewish, but she was very supportive,
and my sister and I converted when
we were young. We visited Israel with
my grandparents when I was 14, and I
really wish I knew the language better.”
The language he knows best comes
from The Book of Mormon creators
Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South