“The Book of Mormon” has reached a new milestone. The musical is now the 12th-longest-running show in Broadway history. The 2011 Tony winner for Best Musical played its 4,643rd performance on Dec. 28, 2023, surpassing the 4,642-performance count of the 2006 Tony-winning Best Musical, “Jersey Boys.”
This record also extends to “Mormon”’s venue, making the musical become the longest-running show at the 98-year-old Eugene O’Neill Theatre. Beyond the O’Neill, “Mormon” now holds that record at all five Jujamcyn-owned theaters (the O’Neill, Al Hirschfeld, August Wilson, St. James and Walter Kerr).
“The Book of Mormon,” co-directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker and featuring a book, music and lyrics by Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone, is a satirical look at two Mormon missionaries as they visit Uganda. The musical began previews on Feb. 24, 2011, before opening on March 24. It was nominated for 14 Tony Awards, winning nine.
“Mormon” is on track to reach another milestone in 2025. The show will soon outpace “Rent,” which currently holds the title of 11th-longest-running Broadway show, with a performance count of 5,123. Continuing with the standard eight performances per week, “Mormon” will reach 5,124 performances in approximately 14 months.
A production’s performance count includes opening night and all post-opening performances and is recorded each week with the publishing of its box office grosses. Preview performances and benefit performances are not included in this tally.
“The Phantom of the Opera,” which closed in April 2023 following 13,981 performances, is the longest-running show in Broadway history. “Chicago,” “The Lion King” and “Wicked,” all of which are currently running, are the second-, third- and fourth-longest-running, respectively.
A comprehensive list of Broadway’s record-setting long-runners can be found here.
