As a high school student, Kevin Mazur sat in the audience at Detroit’s Fisher Theatre watching the Broadway tour of “The Book of Mormon” and dreamt of a life on stage, a future in New York, and the possibility of one day joining a company like the one performing that day.
Nearly a decade later, he has accomplished all that as he recently joined the North American tour of “The Book of Mormon” as a swing.
A graduate of Michigan State University’s Department of Theatre, Mazur returns to MSU’s campus this week as part of that tour when “The Book of Mormon” comes to Wharton Center for Performing Arts on June 19-22.
“It’s an amazing show. This cast is insanely talented,” Mazur said. “The creative team that has put me through rehearsals treated me and the show with so much grace and love and excitement. That’s what you dream about when you join a new company.”
“The Book of Mormon” is a musical comedy that follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries sent halfway across the world to spread the “Good Word.”
As a swing, Mazur is responsible for learning multiple roles and being prepared to step in as needed. The job is demanding and requires the readiness to perform at a moment’s notice.
It is also, in his view, a job he could not have done without the education and mentorship he received at MSU.
MSU education
During his time at MSU, Mazur found structure and lessons that helped him grow as a performer. He was a recipient of the Frank C. Rutledge Endowed Scholarship in Theatre and credits the breadth of opportunities across campus with preparing him for a career in professional theater.
“One of the things that I loved about MSU was that it allowed you to wear so many different hats, if you wanted to,” he said.
From taking nighttime dance classes to participating in a musical theatre group touring off-campus, Mazur made the most of his opportunities as an undergraduate.
Among the faculty who influenced him, Mazur cites Alisa Hauser as a formative mentor. Hauser was his voice teacher and a former Broadway swing. Another key figure was Dionne O’Dell, academic specialist in the Department of Theatre and artistic director of the Sense-Ability Ensemble, whose work in theatre education and accessibility guided Mazur’s life-long commitment to teaching and inclusive performance.
“When I’m not performing on stage, I do a lot of work teaching theatre,” Mazur said. “Working with Dionne O’Dell, who taught all of the theatre education classes then, and focusing on how to make theatre accessible and sensory-friendly theatre, was life changing. I know I would not be where I am today without her and without the experiences I had working with her on all those sensory-friendly shows.”
O’Dell remembers Mazur well, especially for his work as an associate artist for the Sense-Ability Ensemble. In that role, he was a key collaborator in creating two new musicals for students who are neurodiverse.
“I am not in any way surprised that Kevin has joined the cast of the North American tour of ‘The Book of Mormon,’” O’Dell said. “Kevin was a star student during his time at MSU. He is a true triple threat — an equally talented actor, singer, and dancer, and he has an incredibly strong work ethic. I knew it was only a matter of time before he would be in a national tour, or for that matter, on Broadway! Kevin is a remarkable performer and human, and I am incredibly excited for his return to campus!”
Throughout his four years at MSU, Mazur performed in numerous campus productions, including “American Idiot” and “Dr. Fox and the Impossible Cure for Death,” which was part of the ĭmáGen collaboration, now known as the New Musical Laboratory, that unites Broadway professionals and Michigan State University students in the development of a new musical production. This gave Mazur his first experience working with Broadway professionals.
Though Mazur always knew his goal was to move to New York City and work on Broadway, it wasn’t until late his freshman year, while working with MSU’s Summer Circle Theatre, that he realized his dream was achievable.
“I was thinking, ‘wow, I am being paid to make theatre for the first time in my life,’ and that experience was so wonderful, and the people I did it with were so wonderful,” Mazur said. “I thought, ‘there’s a possibility that if I work hard, I could make this my life. I can work on beautiful shows with amazing people and get paid to do it. That is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.'”
This week, Mazur will return to the Summer Circle Theatre stage where he will give a 45-minute master class to current Department of Theatre students.
This also is the last week for the 2025 Summer Circle Theatre season. The children’s musical “Elephant & Piggie’s ‘We Are in a Play!’” is scheduled for the Summer Circle Theatre stage June 19-22 and is based on Mo Willems’ popular Elephant and Piggie book series about the adventures of best friends Gerald the elephant and Piggie the pig.
First acting performances
Mazur discovered his love of performing early in life when he played a munchkin in “The Wizard of Oz” in kindergarten, which was the first production he ever performed in.
“I watched ‘The Wizard of Oz’ VHS over and over again and begged my parents to let me do the play. They said yes, so me and my siblings all did it together,” Mazur said. “It was then that I got bit by the bug, as they say, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
That early fascination led to many hectic but formative years of community and school theater. Mazur took every opportunity he could to act, sing, and dance, oftentimes juggling multiple shows at the same time.
“There were times I was doing four or five shows at once,” he said. “My parents were driving me across the state. It would be Tuesdays at 3 I’m here doing ‘Seussical’ and then at 7 I have to go and do ‘The Little Mermaid’ over there. I’m so grateful for them for doing that.”
Mazur, who is from Warren, Michigan, attended Sterling Heights High School and was active in the Warren Consolidated School of Performing Arts. Several of his high school theatre instructors were MSU alums. So, when it came time for college, attending MSU was a natural choice.
Life after graduation
Mazur graduated from MSU with a BFA in acting in 2020 — at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and an uncertain time for live performance. Yet he hit the ground running, moving to New York right after graduation.
Channeling the passion he discovered working with O’Dell, Mazur began his career with the Legoland theme park in New York as head of its education department. Using the tools he learned at MSU to create sensory-friendly theatre, he helped design sensory-friendly educational programming using Legos.
After a short time, Mazur transitioned into regional and touring work. He performed in “Jersey Boys” (as Bob Gaudio), “Kinky Boots” (as Harry/understudy Charlie), and the national tour of “The Magic School Bus” (as Arnold).
Honoring his commitment to teaching and inclusivity, whenever he isn’t performing in a regional show, he is back in New York, teaching with Inside Broadway, a nonprofit that brings theatre to New York City public schools.
“Teaching feels like giving all of the community theatre directors, high school theatre teachers, and choreographers who stay up late making dances for 9-year-olds a nod and a thank you,” Mazur said. “I feel so blessed by them, so it’s kind of my way of giving back.”
Splitting his time between touring and teaching has given Mazur’s life a kind of dynamic rhythm. He’s always in motion, always pursuing the next opportunity, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s been that constant battle and back and forth, between ‘I’m here, I’m steady, I’m in New York, I’m auditioning, and I’m teaching — and then I book a job and I’m out on the road or I’m in this state or I’m in New Hampshire for four months and that back and forth has been fun.”
A full-circle moment
When Mazur first saw “The Book of Mormon” at the Fisher Theatre nearly a decade ago, he sat in the audience next to his partner Christopher Michael. The couple recently celebrated their nine-year anniversary and will be together again for “The Book of Mormon” performances at Wharton Center for Performing Arts. Only this time, Mazur will be backstage as a member of the company.
“I went through all of Michigan State with Christopher, and we now live together in New York City,” Mazur said. “I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the dreams-coming-true aspect of being on this tour could not have been possible without having him by my side this entire time.”
As Mazur returns to the banks of the Red Cedar, he reflects on what advice he might have for his freshman-year self.
“I would just tell myself; you are not crazy. You are following your love and your passion,” he said. “All the extracurriculars, and big credit hours, and staying up super late because you love these shows and you love working on all of these billions of projects, it’s fulfilling you now and it will fulfill you years and years down the road.”
This story originally appeared on the College of Arts and Letters website.
