Interview: Gabe Gibbs Explains BOOK OF MORMON is an Everybody Musical for The Fisher Theatre

Gabe Gibbs is returning is back to his home state with the Book of Mormon tour and could not be more excited to be performing where he grew up and learned his love of theatre. The fan-favorite, Tony Award winning show returns to Detroit for a limited engagement at the Fisher Theatre from November 1st to 13th where Gibbs plays the lead role of Elder Price. "I never want to assume that people know the Broadway scene," said Gibbs, "but it's so funny because I when say I'm part of the show that the South Park dudes wrote, people usually get mad at me and are like 'of course we know what Book of Mormon is!'"

For anyone living under a rock since 2011, Book of Mormon swept the Tony Awards with nine wins including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Direction. "Plot wise, it is a two Mormon boys who are sent on a mission to war torn Uganda and things do not go as they thought that they would go," explained Gibbs when asked to described to show for anyone who may not know it. "At the core, it's just an all American hero and the nerdy guy figuring out how to work together." The tour has been to Detroit a few times selling out to recording breaking crowds, and is always crowd favorite.

Native to Michigan, Gibbs went to Rochester High School where he credits learning a lot from Frank Gallon and Jolene Plotzke. "Along with my family coming to the show, my high school theatre teachers, voice teachers, and a lot of people who poured into me when I was younger and helped me through a lot growing up," he said. "I'm very excited. It is what makes this job fun because when you have people you love coming and being so excited to see you."

After being away from Michigan for so long, Gibbs is looking forward to seeing his family and friends, but he misses Albi Pizza as well. "My parents are in Rochester Hills and that's where I grew up. I miss it and it's so great," he said. "The whole Gibbs family are huge Eastern Marketers. We love it. I won't have time to see to go see a game at Ford Filed, but that would have been really cool. Sadly, my Tigers aren't playing anymore, but that's okay. Really, for me, it's my family, Eastern Market, and Albi Pizza and that's about it."

From high school, Gibbs moved on Emerson College in Boston where he studied acting. Following that, he moved to Los Angeles and did a few projects. In 2014, he joined Book of Mormon and has been with the show ever since. Gibbs only ever played the role of Elder Price, starting out as the stand-by for Gavin Creel. "Of course if you're a Broadway buff in anyway, you know who Gavin is, but it was really cool to stand-by for him because he is a hero of mine," said Gibbs. "I started standing-by for him on the road and then stood-by on Broadway for a while. Now I'm officially doing the gig full-time."

Even though by now, it is a show that that most people have heard of or, if they have, they have an opinion of, Gibbs describes the show in a way that can make others think differently. "Obviously, it is a show about religion, but when I talk to friends about it, I say it is a show about carving out spiritual cheapness and in whatever way that needs to happen for you and your maturity," he said. "Of course it is presented in a silly way because it is written by Matt (Stone) and Trey (Parker), who do South Park, but I truly think it is a show that calls attention to spiritual cheapness." Gibbs goes on to explain that people could think the show is anti-religious, which he doesn't think it is at all. "I don't think people would want to see a musical that talks about spirituality unless it was covered in South Park humor, you know f-bombs and fart jokes," he said. "I really don't think people would come and see such a powerful subject if it wasn't covered in all the humor, so I think it is a really smart show."

Book of Mormon is show that is unlike any other. "I promise it's nothing like you've ever seen, ever, ever, ever," said Gibbs. "It's a musical for people who don't like musicals and for people who do, but I think it's an everybody musical."

Book of Mormon opens November 1st and runs until the 13th at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit. For more information or tickets, visit www.BroadwayInDetroit.com.

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