NEW YORK, September 28, 2026 – Behind the scenes at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre located at West 49th Street, backstage crew went about their usual work of checking the props at around 6:30 pm on a Friday. Out front, patrons lined up half a block down the street toward Eighth Avenue holding tickets to an act that once scandalized the critics during Obama’s first term.
Over thirteen years later, the irreverent juggernaut hasn’t lost its punch.
Finally, on September 25, The Book of Mormon took its rightful place in the list of the ninth-longest-running Broadway shows of all time by beating the long-standing record of 5,758 performances achieved by Mamma Mia! The nine-time Tony Award-winning musical by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez marked the achievement at 5,759 performances of this highly acclaimed show from 2011.
This is important because the commercial theatre scene in Midtown is seeing a difficult post-pandemic struggle, and rising production expenses have led to several notable revivals closing prematurely in the current season.
However, there was a lot of energy going around at the O’Neill theatre. A primary reason for the buzz in late September was the well-publicized return of the original cast members, Nikki M. James and Rory O’Malley, who took up their much-celebrated roles of Nabulungi and Elder McKinley for a limited period.
As documented by Playbill, James—who earned a Tony Award for originating her role—and O’Malley, a Tony nominee for his portrayal of the tap-dancing missionary, brought an unmistakable surge of nostalgia to the landmark performance. Audiences broke into extended applause during their entrance cues, temporarily halting the show’s brisk comedic timing.
“Stepping back on that stage feels like slipping on a custom glove,” O’Malley admitted backstage before the anniversary curtain went up. “The jokes land just as sharp, but the affection in the house? That’s grown ten times over.”
The catch is that maintaining a hit play through five thousand shows means much more than a wildly funny satire. Where South Park fans came initially for the outrageous jokes from the creators, maintaining a successful show on Broadway would involve musical talent, including hummable songs, choreography, and unexpectedly heartfelt emotional appeal.
Of course, it was not an easy ride, with mandated closures in 2020 putting any long-standing play to existential threat. Once theaters have been allowed to reopen in late 2021, some of the character moments were revised to better match the cultural sensitivities while still maintaining the satirical message.
So what’s next for the play?
Getting to the next milestone in terms of the number of performances, overtaking eighth-place Wicked with more than 8,000 performances behind its name, may take a bit of time. However, judging by consistent weekend box office numbers and full houses in the mezzanine for September, it would be hard to bet against the knocking-on-doors missionaries.
