Palo Alto Weekly 05.18.2012 - Section 1

Page 24

Arts & Entertainment A weekly guide to music, theater, art, movies and more, edited by Rebecca Wallace

‘Book of Mormon’ cast includes a pair of Peninsulans

CBS publicity photo

Broadway debut for two hen Nic Rouleau started performing at age 8 in a Peninsula Youth Theatre production in Mountain View, he had dreams of making it to Broadway. Little did he know he would achieve that goal by age 24. Now 25 and a graduate of Sacred Heart Preparatory in Atherton, Rouleau is working six days a week as the standby for one of the lead roles in the Broadway hit “The Book of Mormon.” Since July, he has appeared as Elder Price more than 40 times at the Eugene O’Neill Theater. The Tony award-winning musical is an irreverent take on Mormon missionaries working in Africa, as portrayed by the creators of the television show “South Park.” The musical is sold out through the rest of the year, and Rouleau expects it to run in New York for many more years. His contract extends through September, and after that he’s hoping “to do the role more fulltime” in New York, he says. A nationally touring company will bring the show to San Francisco in November, and include one member of the Broadway cast, he says. The current cast also has another Peninsulan. Nick Spangler, a graduate of Mountain View High School, is also making his Broadway debut in “Mormon.” Spangler is a swing, which means he understudies various singing and dancing roles. That can also mean he’s very busy. On April 1, he wrote on Twitter: “Onstage for my 167th performance in The Book of Mormon today... Swing power! #nobodycomestoworkanymore” Also in April, Spangler played Rolf in a benefit concert performance of “The Sound of Music” at Carnegie Hall. His previous shows included an off-Broadway production of “The Fantasticks!” and regional productions of “Fantasy Football: the musical?” and “Avenue X.” Spangler briefly swapped the stage for the small screen in 2008, when he and his sister Starr won

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Robert Mannis

by Kate Daly

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Top left: Actor Nick Spangler pictured in a CBS publicity shot with his sister Starr when they were on the reality show “The Amazing Race” in 2008. Above: Actor Nic Rouleau.


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