Scenes from The Book of Mormon

Park) and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q).
“I loved South Park ever since
I can remember. It still blows my
mind that I’m in their show. The
songs are unbelievably good. Elder
Cunningham is the comedic relief in
a show full of comedy,” Ben-Shmuel
says. “To play this role is an abso-
lute dream. Every time I go on, it’s
not lost on me how lucky I am. The
audience adores the show.”
Early on, when Ben-Shmuel
joined The Book of Mormon, he
recalled an aggressive heckler who
yelled “blasphemers” during the
show. He compared it to a recent
incident that happened during inter-
mission of the touring production of
Fiddler on the Roof (which comes to
the Wharton Center in East Lansing
Dec. 4-9). The curtain had just come
down at the Hippodrome Theatre in
Baltimore for intermission when a
man repeatedly yelled “Heil, Hitler.
Heil, Trump” before he was escorted
out by the police.
“Some of The Book of Mormon

cast members know some folks in
Fiddler. On one hand, it’s obviously
terrifying and it’s not something you
think about being possible, even
though we know it can happen.
Unfortunately, we have these awful
reminders. Luckily, no one was hurt,
but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s
worrisome. I thank God that every-
one was safe. I am proud that we can
continue our craft and put the work
up on stage when scary stuff like
this happens. We need to continue
to stand up, even in the face of evil,”
Ben-Shmuel says.
“What I think people realize when
they see The Book of Mormon is
that the irreverence is for a purpose,
and it really has a gigantic, honest
heart at the center of it. It pokes fun
at Mormonism but, really, in that
vein, it pokes fun at religion in gen-
eral and turns it around at the end.
The heart of the show is that if you
believe in someone, it makes your
life better. That’s an unbelievably
pure message.” ■

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November 29 • 2018

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