Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells are back on stage together in “Gutenberg,” just don't call it a reunion

For musical theater lovers, the fall Broadway season boasts a reteaming over a decade in the making.

After breaking out in the musical comedy smash hit The Book of Mormon, Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad have gone on to epic careers in film, television, and the theater (their CVs include: Girls, The Prom, Frozen, The Intern, Beauty and the Beast, Murder on the Orient Express and more). Now, they're back on Broadway together again for the first time since 2011.

The two star in Gutenberg! The Musical as aspiring musical theater writers Bud Davenport (Gad) and Doug Simon (Rannells), attempting to pitch investors on their grossly inaccurate musical about the life of Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. Written by Beetlejuice duo Scott Brown and Anthony King, Gutenberg! began its life way back in the early 2000s as the pair developed it at the Upright Citizens Brigade. It has since played Off-Broadway and in numerous regional productions, but on Oct. 12, it finally gets to have its Broadway opening at the James Earl Jones Theatre.

The production unites Gad and Rannells' unique comedic rapport, but it also throws the brunt of the entire show on them, as they wear a myriad of hats (literally) in their portrayal of the various characters of their fictional composers' Gutenberg musical. But the two haven't exactly been out of touch since Mormon, so we called them up to get their take on why this was the show to bring them back to Broadway together and how tough it is being the only two people on stage. Though mostly we tried to not derail the interview by laughing.

Matthew Murphy Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad in 'Gutenberg! The Musical'

This show has had a really long life regionally and off-Broadway. But when did it first come into your orbit? Had you ever seen it before it came your way? 

JOSH GAD: No, neither of us had. I was talking to [director Alex] Timbers about doing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Rannells was talking to Timbers about another project, and sneaky little Timbers decided that he was going to use those relationships with us to slip us this third project called Gutenberg: The Musical that neither of us had ever heard about. We both read it and we were both like, "What the hell is this?" It's so funny, it's so winning. And apparently we're the only two people in New York who had never heard of it. And we said, "You know what? Why don't we do a reading event and let's see how it feels on all of us?" And we finished it and Andrew and I looked at each other afterwards and we go, "This could be the one." And that was March of 2020.

ANDREW RANNELLS: We were all ready to go. We were very excited. And then we had to take a little pause, but strangely, this timing has worked out because the nature of the show. It's such a joyous one that it fills a slot on Broadway that is much needed.

A big selling point here is that this is the first time you two are back together on Broadway since Book of Mormon. Did you find that rapport and chemistry instant or did you have to work a little bit to find it again?

GAD: It was like we stopped performing Mormon yesterday and started performing Gutenberg today. It was wild.

RANNELS: Since the first time we met, we fell into a very natural rhythm with each other. That's why the show seemed like such a perfect fit for us is because it really does lend itself to all of our usual shenanigans. We couldn't have written it better ourselves.

GAD: This wouldn't have happened had we not both been rejected from our inquiries about doing Chicago together. I wanted to play Roxie and Andrew was going to play the other woman.

RANNELLS: Her name is Velma!

What's something about the other that you feel makes you a better performer? 

GAD: You go first, Andrew. I'll base my answer based on what you say, and if it's good and if it inflates my ego, then I'll give you a compliment worthy of you.

RANNELLS: I feel like what Josh and I — and I will speak for Josh — what we pretty quickly realized with The Book of Mormon is that we both have very different styles that complement each other, and we don't try to occupy the same space. We naturally gravitate toward slightly different styles in terms of presentation, but it matches up really well together. I learned from the first time that I met Josh that I was never going to out funny him and that I could just stand back and let him do his thing and somehow in that my observation of his Elder Cunningham was funny in its own way. I'm regularly surprised and completely delighted with what Josh does on stage.

GAD: I want to take a counterpoint to this because I actually think Andrew is a secret comedy assassin. Honestly, there has not been a run so far where I haven't collapsed from laughing at something this idiot is doing on the stage. He's the slyest comedian I know. He's got this wicked, dry sensibility that is so different from my own chaotic, comedic approach. I always feel safe when I'm with him because he is such a pro and because he's done so much more theater than I have, especially over the last decade.

This is my first time coming back [to Broadway] and he's done a couple. I know that if I mess up, he'll be there to lift me up. That really boosts your confidence because you feel free to take risks. You feel free to take chances when you have a partner that is arguably the most talented human being on any stage on Broadway. It felt like I was coming back opposite Michael Jordan. And I can be a really good Dennis Rodman in that situation. And that's sports and a reference Andrew doesn't understand.

RANNELLS: I'll Google that later.

Matthew Murphy Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells in 'Gutenberg! The Musical'

The show was originally developed at UCB. Does that mean that you two improvise at all or no? 

RANNELLS: There's a little bit of space for that. We spend a good portion of the show talking directly to the audience, so that lends itself to some improvising. But to be clear, it's an amazing script written by Anthony King and Scott Brown that we are trying our best to say all of. But sometimes we go a little rogue, so we'll see what happens.

GAD: Put it this way — the show is monumentally funny as written, but I also guarantee that you'll never see two shows that are the same. And it can be the tiniest thing.

RANNELLS: Scott Brown said that to us the other night. He said, "I don't think we've seen the same show twice." And I couldn't tell if it was a compliment or if it was a threat.

Well, in that regard, because Anthony and Scott are musical theater writers, it feels like Doug and Bud might be at least partially drawn from themselves. Is that fair? Have you borrowed things from them? 

RANNELLS: Absolutely. Their friendship and their working relationship goes back many, many, many, many years. And this show came out of Anthony working at, I'm pretty positive it was the Manhattan Theater Club. His job was to go through musical submissions. He would wade through script after script and cassette tape after cassette tape of people presenting these potential musicals for the Manhattan Theater Club. And that's where this all came from was he was like, "I think we could probably write something really absurd and funny because people take some big swings with musicals in terms of subject matter and what would make a good musical." And they thought what would make the most absurd musical is a musical based on Johannes Gutenberg.

GAD: What's really surprising about it to me is it's the funniest thing either of us read since Mormon. I wasn't even sure I would come back and do a musical comedy. I didn't quite know what would top my experience. When I read this, it blew my socks off at how funny it was. But the thing that surprised both of us so much is how much heart it has and how the comedy isn't driven by cynicism. It's driven by this eternal optimism and hopefulness and positivity, which feels really refreshing. What's been most interesting watching is not just how much people are laughing their socks off, but also how emotional they get at the end of the show. To me is really what makes this work.

Reading about it, it feels like The Producers on steroids. Is that accurate? 

GAD: I don't think that's an unfair description of it.

RANNELLS: It doesn't have the size and mass of The Producers. It is just the two of us playing all of these parts. We unfortunately, do not get a beautiful chorus of kick line dancers. We have to do that by ourselves. And are we successful? I think we do a real good kick line.

GAD: I actually think that our kick line is up there with The Producers' kick line.

So, which one of you is Zero Mostel and which one of you is Gene Wilder? 

GADL Well, I think physically Andrew is Mostel, but I think emotionally, he's got the Gene Wilder sensibility. This is the single toughest question I've ever been asked.

RANNELLS: There's space for us to both give our tribute in different ways to both of them.

The show is a true two hander. How challenging is that? I assume it's easier knowing you can rely on the other as you're going through this. 

RANNELLS: Oh, absolutely. There's no other way through this show than to be able to look at Josh and know, "Okay, we we're in this together and if one of us falls down, there's somebody else there to pick up the slack."

GAD: Or laugh at them. It's the most physically and vocally challenging thing I've ever done in my life. I don't know about you, Andrew. It's a two person show with 50 people in it. We're playing a bunch of characters. We're quite literally juggling 120 hats. We are our own cast and crew, meaning all the scene changes we are responsible for. It is mentally and physically exhausting, and at the same time, exhilarating because so much can go wrong. It's that part of it that keeps you on your toes and make you have to work for supper. It's the reason I wanted to come back and do this — the challenge of it is the reward.

Matthew Murphy Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells in 'Gutenberg! The Musical'

Within those 50 characters, do you have a favorite one that you take on in the course of the show?

GAD: I'm quite fond of Monk. I play a villain of the piece and he's both a complicated villain and also the simplest character I've ever played. He's just quite a delight to get to lean into that heightened villainy and absurdity. So I really love him.

RANNELLS: Helvetica — it's very fun to get to be the ingenue for a second. That's a very unexpected turn of events for a 45-year-old man, getting to play the romantic leading lady. I didn't see that coming in my career.

GAD: I always saw that for you, which is why I fought so hard for us to get Chicago.

How much have you two been able to keep in touch in the years in between Mormon and this? Do you see each other quite often? 

RANNELLS: We do see each other a fair amount. We've both been very fortunate since then to be very busy and to be working a lot. Josh has traveled all over the world doing different movies and TV shows, and he's very often far away. But we do keep in touch. Our friend Nikki James from The Book of Mormon said something to me the other night, which was, "It's not really a reunion if you're actually friends." And it's true, People keep saying, "Oh, it's a reunion." But we are friends, so it doesn't feel like we've been apart for 12 years, and now all of a sudden we're together. We have remained and will remain a big part of each other's lives. So it's quite a gift right now.

You both have had these really fantastic careers. In the meanwhile, what is one project the other did that you are most jealous of or wish you could have done? 

GAD: Oh boy. I've told Rannells, but when I saw him in Hedwig and the Angry Inch [on Broadway], I was extremely jealous. It was such a tour de force performance, one that I could never do, and I was blown away. I also wish that I could do Girls, but I feel like the show just wouldn't be the same if I played that role.

RANNELLS: No, you could have been on Girls; you would've fit right in. That would've been perfect. Josh has done many, many things I was particularly jealous of. When we were at South by Southwest and you were promoting The Comedians. I loved that show and you were so fantastic on it on so many levels and working with Billy Crystal — I was very... not jealous, I was more extremely proud that you had this platform to show yet another side of yourself.

GAD: Andrew's always wanted to do a show that was canceled after one season.

Within Gutenberg, do you guys have a favorite bit or dialogue exchange? 

RANNELLS: Our introduction to the audience — the first five to seven minutes of us on stage introducing what we're about to do. I really love getting to do that with Josh, and it sets off the whole show.

GAD: Mine is in the second act. There's a moment when we go into this whole spiel about secrets that is so insane and almost breaks the show. It makes me laugh so hard because it's comedically so different than everything else that we do. But honestly, there's never been anything else like this that I've done where literally once I start, I'm not excited about every moment to come.

What is something in your friendship that you have never told the other? 

GAD: I have a good one. I never told you that I was very jealous of you when we started Book of Mormon.

RANNELLS: Really?

GAD: Yeah. I was like, "Oh God, he's going to steal the show from me." Which I had never felt that way about any other Elder Price I had worked with. I was like, "Oh God, I'm done. The monopoly I had on the comedy in this the show is over."

What is the hardest the other has ever made you laugh? 

GAD: Not a day goes by where I literally am not crying from something stupid Rannells says or does.

RANNELLS: I don't think I can repeat some of the stuff that Josh says to me.

GAD: No, no, no. We're getting into cancel culture territory.

RANNELLS: We should probably stop.

GAD: Andrew seems really cool, but he's the filthiest human being I've ever met.

RANNELLS: That means so much to me.

GAD: There's a thing that I do a lot, which is, for whatever reason, I have a very unhealthy sounding burp, and when I do it, it sounds like a T-Rex fighting a lesser dinosaur quite a lot. I'll do it a lot on stage in rehearsals and the responses that Andrew has to it bring me to heart attack territory because I fall on the floor. What did you say the other day?

RANNELLS: I told you that you smelled like a vet's office. It smelled like a veterinarian coming out of your body.

GAD: We're in our forties, but we're still children. I'm sorry to let you know.

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