Sydney Quildon’s Mad Dash to The Book of Mormon on Broadway

Sydney Quildon, who plays Nabulungi in the Tony-winning musical The Book of Mormon always wanted to be on Broadway. She even emblazoned the words “Broadway Bound!" on her high school graduation cap. Now, five years after her bold statement at Florida's Cypress Bay High School 2021 commencement, the performer is making her Broadway debut in the outrageous musical at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. Quildon spoke with Broadway.com Editor-in-Chief Paul Wontorek about her whirlwind audition and dreams for the future.

While studying at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut, Quildon made frequent trips to New York City both to audition and see shows, including The Book of Mormon. Before she was an audience member, she had only heard two of The Book of Mormon’s songs: “Hello” and “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream,” and she wasn't sure if there was a part for her in the show. Then she realized there are characters beyond the Mormon church members at the center of the story. “After seeing it, I was like, ‘I really, really want to do this,’” she says.

After college, Quildon performed in regional productions. It was during her stint in All Shook Up at Connecticut's Goodspeed Opera House that she tried out for The Book of Mormon. The actress auditioned on her day off from Goodspeed and afterward, the Mormon casting team asked, “What do we have to do to get you here to sing for the producers tomorrow?” She was determined to return the next day, even though it was a two-show day for the production back in East Haddam.

She made it to the early morning callback in New York City the very next day with the quick turnaround occupying her. “I walked out of the room and I went, 'Well, that was fun, but it's never gonna happen,'” Quildon says. “I had a great time, but who knows if this will work out at this point?" Her mind was on making her matinee curtain of All Shook Up. She arrived back at the theater just in time for the half-hour call.

A week later, Quildon's agent called her with the news she’d be making her Broadway debut. “I freaked out,” she says. “I don't even think I said yes. I went, ‘Oh my God, I'm gonna call my mom,’ and I hung up. I called her and we were crying. It was incredible!”

Quildon now performs on Broadway eight times a week as Nabulungi, the hopeful Ugandan she calls "the heart" of The Book of Mormon. The show might be full of insane comedy, but “there's so much more to it than that,” she says. “[Nabulungi] just brings this earnest willingness to everything she does. She has this drive to save everyone around her that is so beautiful.”

 Nikki M. James won a Tony Award for originating Nabulungi in 2011, and Quildon had the chance to perform alongside her during the show’s 15th anniversary celebration. Quildon felt honored to share the stage with James. “She's the sweetest person imaginable," she says. "My 'Naba-sister.' It was incredible to be welcomed into [the show's anniversary] like that.”

With Broadway officially on her resume, Quildon meets a lot of aspiring performers, and she has some thoughtful advice for them. “I would say to come into every situation as a student and to be ready to learn from everyone you meet," she offers. "Just be ready to take the lesson from all of it.” Quildon sees her herself staying in Broadway mode, with dream roles ranging from Eurydice in Hadestown to Glinda in Wicked. Her high school graduation cap mantra of "Broadway Bound!" was a manifestation she is now realizing eight shows a week. 

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