'Book of Mormon' recoups

Hallelujah -- Broadway tuner "The Book of Mormon" has recouped its capitalization costs.Show's swift journey into the black isn't much of a surprise given the stellar grosses the musical has consistently logged since it opened in March. Legit outing from "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and "Avenue Q" composer Robert Lopez has become one the Street's hottest tickets, regularly commanding an average ticket price of about $150.Last week, during the high-demand Thanksgiving frame, "Mormon" logged $1,677,963 for nine perfs, reporting a whopping $170 average per-ducat price. During its time on the Rialto, show has logged a cume of more than $45 million.Producers won't confirm the Broadway capitalization cost of the musical, but it's generally thought "Mormon" weighed in at around $8 million or $9 million.Musical's sales are powered not only by the international popularity of Parker and Stone's "South Park," the Comedy Central skein that's amassed a huge fanbase over 15 seasons, but also by the enthusiastic response of the legit world. Tuner won critical raves when it opened and then in June took home nine Tonys, including the new musical laurel, the one theater kudo generally believed to have a real impact on box office.Production also benefits from the size of its venue, the Eugene O'Neill Theater, which at 1,066 seats is considerably smaller than most tuner houses on the Main Stem. The theater's limited ticket inventory, coupled with high consumer demand, have driven up ticket prices: Top non-premium ducat costs $153, while the top premium pricetag is $475.Andrew Rannells, Josh Gad and Nikki M. James lead the cast of "Mormon," about a pair of Latter Day Saints sent on a mission to Uganda. Show is co-helmed by Parker and Casey Nicholaw, who also choreographed.Anne Garefino and Scott Rudin lead a team of producers that also includes Roger Berlind, Scott M. Delman, Jean Doumanian, Roy Furman, Important Musicals, Stephanie P. McClelland, Kevin Morris, Jon B. Platt, Sonia Friedman Prods. and Stuart Thompson. Contact Gordon Cox at gordon.cox@variety.com