Interview: “It's a conversation that's never going to go away." Kevin Clay highlights the message behind the comedy as THE BOOK OF MORMON returns to The Fox Theatre

Kevin Clay is no stranger to the popularity of The Book of Mormon. Having been a cast member of the mega-hit's second National Tour for two years, he's especially thrilled to be returning to Atlanta for the show's limited engagement at The Fox Theatre, starring as Elder Price. In sharing his thoughts about the important message behind the show's raucous comedy, he tells us why he thinks The Book of Mormon continues to cause audiences across America to burst out laughing and take note of the effect religion can have on our communities.

THE BOOK OF MORMON is a hysterical show that has quickly turned into a modern-day classic. You've been a part of the touring company since you graduated from college. How's the process of bringing this show from city-to-city been going?

It's amazing. Like you said, the show itself is such an amazing piece of theatre, that no matter how long I've been doing it, I'm always so thankful that this is the show I've been in for a long time. I completely agree with the message of the show, I think the writing is so smart and also very funny. For us, we get to have a great time every night, which I'm very thankful for. I don't have to go out there and cry every night! I get to deliver a message which I think is very poignant and that I fully agree with, and at the same time have some laughs!

Being in the show for so long has been an interesting process, which until you do it, there's no training or experience quite like it. I first joined the show and was in the Ensemble, and I was the Understudy for the role of Elder Price. After about a year and a half of doing that, I became Standby, so I wasn't performing every night. I was just backstage ready to go on whenever they needed me, which was a whole different experience. I had to figure out how to keep myself motivated, figure out how to maintain myself physically able to do the role, and have the vocal stamina. After about 6 months of that, I was fortunate enough to be bumped up into the role full time. So now, again, a whole other beast of having to figure out how to perform a massive role 8 times a week.

The role of Elder Price seems pretty demanding from a vocal and performing perspective. How do you continue to bring the intense level of energy required for each performance?

I think it's a mix of really understanding the show and being smart. Trying to understand my own body and the signals that it tells me. There's some nights where I'll go out and I can feel right away that I need to breathe more, or I might be fatigued. But having done the role for so long, as long as I stay engaged and energized, we can still deliver an amazing show. I think Elder Price is one of the most difficult male roles right now. But when you do a show for so long, it becomes a part of you and part of your muscle memory. It's fun to be able to play with the show and the role. As a performer, as long as I'm in line with what I think the character needs to portray, I don't necessarily do the exact same show every time. I like to have fun and really play off the actors around me on stage.

There are a ton of big numbers in this show, with songs that are so catchy and instant ear-worms. What's your favorite number from the show?

My favorite number is "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" that Elder Price sings. It's a really fun, big sing. It's definitely one of the more challenging songs for me to sing in the show. From an audience point of view, it's such a perfect way to set up a character for the rest of the plot. It's an epic hero song. Also, the song itself is a complete homage to WICKED. It's the closest I'll ever get to singing Elphaba material!

The relationship between Elder Price, Elder Cunningham, and the Ugandan people show a classic fish out of water story. What can the show teach audiences about understanding people with differing beliefs?

There's the idea of these two characters being dropped into a foreign country. Specifically, with the song "All-American Prophet", there's this built-in joke that not only is Mormonism one of the fastest growing religions, but that it is an "American-made" religion. I think now more than ever, the show is an introspective about trying to go out into, in this case, Africa - and expect success from sharing our culture. And not exactly seeing the results that we expect. I think it's fascinating.

Obviously, the show has a high-caliber comedic and performance pedigree, with Trey Parker and Matt Stone of "South Park" and Robert Lopez of AVENUE Q and FROZEN making up the original creative team. Besides the comedy, why do you think this show has been able to be so successful across multiple touring engagements?

I think Trey Parker and Matt Stone brought a lot of elements to this show which hooked people on "South Park" for so many years. Obviously, there's the more outlandish or controversial moments, which I think works to our advantage in The Book of Mormon. Because most Broadway shows are not necessarily known for that brash, forward style of comedy. When a show like that comes along, it creates buzz. Then when people find out that on top of that, the comedy is also brilliant, it's a whole extra bonus.

For me, the biggest piece is once people have been drawn in to see the show, you realize that all these laughs that you've had throughout the night are actually building you toward this ultimate thought of religion and faith in the world around you, and how does that effect your life? When it comes to religion, it's a conversation that's never going to go away. For example, right now, I think we are in a massive time where religion is central to issues and problems, but also positives and forces of change. So I think that audiences might be a little surprised when they get into this show that they think is a crazy comedy and so different from the world that they know, only to then have a mirror held up to themselves at the end of the show where they could hopefully see the message applied to their own life.

Kevin Clay is currently starring as Elder Price in the second National Tour of The Book of Mormon. He is a graduate of Penn State with a B.F.A. in musical theatre. His Regional credits include: Pittsburgh CLO, Music Theatre Wichita and Wagon Wheel Theatre.

THE BOOK OF MORMON features book, music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. Parker and Stone are the four-time Emmy Award-winning creators of the landmark animated series, "South Park." Tony Award-winner Lopez is co-creator of the long-running hit musical comedy, AVENUE Q. The Book of Mormon returns to Atlanta for a limited run, July 17-22 at the Fox Theatre. For more information, visit BookofMormonTheMusical.com or BroadwayInAtlanta.com