Original Cast Member Rory O’Malley to Depart The Book of Mormon

Original cast member and Tony nominee Rory O’Malley has announced that he will be departing the smash hit musical The Book of Mormon on January 27. A replacement for O’Malley, who has played the closeted Elder McKinley since the show opened on Broadway in 2011, has not yet been announced.

The actor posted the news to his Twitter account, alongside a bevvy of goodbyes to/from other Broadway actors who tweeted their support for the longtime Mormon missionary. O’Malley is the third principal original cast member to leave the show, following Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad in the summer of 2012.

“As a kid I dreamt of nothing more than originating a role on Bwy, but getting to do that w/ Elder McKinley has fulfilled that dream tenfold,” he tweeted, adding, “NEVER TURN IT OFF!” (referencing his character's showstopping act one number).

The Book of Mormon nabbed 14 Tony Award nominations in 2011; among those was O'Malley's first Tony nod for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. In 2012, Broadway.com launched a backstage video blog with O'Malley called The Book of Rory—watch the very first episode below!