Let’s face the truth. Religion is a touchy subject. So touchy, that dare sort of medium discusses or uses it, there will be hate letters and hate mail streaming through the creators mailboxes and computers. Even Godspell as harmless as it seemed was criticized for portraying Jesus as a clown. So what happens when Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the writers of a notoriously offensive, but surprisingly thoughtful and extremely well-written cartoon series make a musical discussing religion, using The Church of Latter Day Saints as its focus?
One freaking good time, that’s what happens.
I have seen The Book of Mormon tour as it came to the city nearest to me. I can state, without a doubt, it is the funniest musical I have ever seen, so far. Do the laughs come from jokes that are more than a bit crude? Yes, you bet. But to quote Transformers, there is more to this show than meets the eye. The 2011 Tony Award for Best Musical was not carelessly given here. Any show under the right director, cast, and crew can flourish in its own way. But it is ultimately up to the writer to make something dazzling and memorable.
This particular tour, directed by both Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker fulfills this standard and more. Each member of the cast holds the ability to create their own unique character and immerse themselves in their interpretation. If that interpretation appears to be one-sided at first, as the show goes on, each major character has their own complexity and uniqueness. Mark Evan’s Elder Price at first is played too much like a straight, classically voice trained, pretty boy to carry the weight of the shows comedy that lies in its center. But there is a great irony in this steel faced beauty. His character is supposed to be the perfect, golden Mormon boy. So when he speaks and sings these ridiculous things with a calm enthusiasm, his characterization becomes more fitting. The nerdy sidekick-turned-hero, Elder Cunningham played by Christopher John O’Neil is Beauty and The Beasts Lefou incarnate. He made strong physical choices, and was able to be annoying but also likeable and sympathetic. Alexandra Ncube’s performance as Nabulubgi was quite believable but when she sang the reprise of Hasa Diga Eebowai after Elder Cunningham’s betrayal of her, not a single heart in the house was left unbroken.
The first of the two strongest players in this touring cast is Grey Henson. His Elder Mckinely is a Mormon Missionary who is so gay that it is a miracle rainbows and hearts don’t shoot off from the tips of his toenails yet is forced to suppress it due to his duty to his religion and to gladly does so (or so it seems). His comedy, dancing, and especially his physicality-moving, standing, gestures-were a perfect bullseye. Corey Jones biography is full of very serious classical plays, so naturally he was able to pull off General Butt-Fucking Naked-yes, that is his name- as the intimidating Antagonist, but he definitely adds a swirl of humor to the role as well.
Even the set was amazing to watch and effectively used. From the outline of the stage mimicking the Mormon Tabernacle to the huts of the village to the small missionary center, the shows life was recreated in creative and believable ways via the set. But it was not too huge and blocky that getting them out of the way for the next scene seemed too much of a challenge. You know a show has to be good when I am praising the set changes.
But enough wasting time on set changes-the musical numbers and comedy, as stated before, are the heart and soul of The Book of Mormon. It’s loaded with fun, catchy music and a lot of cool choreography-ranging from the perky tapping of the Mormons to the flexible, leveled Modern of the African Villagers. Music and Dance is just plain fun. Everyone at this point knows about the cheerful opening number “Hello” and the big shocker song “Hasa Diga Eebowai” the shows two funniest numbers are “Turn it off” and especially “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream.” Although the staging is a joy to watch, the fastest and funniest staging is during these two key songs and the talents of the people behind it are the most shown off. The cleverness of the choreography, the actor’s talent, and the writings humor all combined with two hilarious songs-one about emotional suppression and the other about purgatorial guilt dreams- are a feast for the eyes and ears. There was more to listen to and especially watch for than was possible.
The Book of Mormon is quite close to a perfect Musical Comedy, but not exactly on the mark. Reading the beginning of this review and given the shows reputation, you can probably guess why. The Musical not only has a crude sense of humor, but to add to its danger, it is also about religion. Jesus at one point appears and bursts out the word “dick”, the song. “Baptize Me” is extremely uncomfortable, maybe even more uncomfortable than "Hasa." Brutal truths questioning the Mormon faith are spoken, and there are f-bombs aplenty. Any Audience member walking into the show and not knowing it was written by the South Park guys are bound to be startled.
But in my opinion, the bawdiness serves for a larger reason than just two writer’s trademark.
The Mormons themselves have grown up with an idealized vision of how the world should be-as symbolized by Orlando and even the mentioning of Disney’s The Lion King upon learning the mission location is in Africa. They know that this world could be turned into their own paradise if they have faith and obey the requirements for all Mormons-including Missionary work. They push off any distractions and religiously inappropriate thoughts and actions into the appropriate. Note that the Mormons, for example, take great lengths not to swear (“That’s Bullpoop.” “O.M.Gosh”). They also have unrealistic expectations for the rest of the world and its function as well (“You mission location is France!” “France! Land of Pastries and turtlenecks!”). The Vulgarity, first spewed from the Africans they attempt to convert to the church, represents this brutal reality. Putting every ounce on religion as a cure-all for each problem they face turns out to be unwise, especially when there are plenty of very frightening and very real dangers about the world as well as more practical needs to be fixed or even worse downright ignoring or denying it, the Mormon Missionaries don’t bring food or medicine to the ill, starving village, they are just concerned about increasing their numbers!
The Book of Mormon is a loss of innocence and growing up story. Our Main Missionaries must come to terms with a world crueler than what their religion prepared them for and adapt while still keeping faith in their bizarre beliefs.
Is this interpretation right? Is this message what the writers were going for? Perhaps, but also perhaps not. After all, any piece of art-be it Van Gogh to Stanley Kubrick to The Beatles- is ultimately up to the audience for interpretation.
The Book of Mormon is definitely not for the squeamish and those fonder of soap-laden mouths as a punishment for even saying “OMG.” But if you are like me and you can stomach the South Park styled vulgarity, you will behold an all-you-can-eat buffet of hilarity with a smart brain and a big heart. It is a beyond wonderful show, but only if you are ready for it.
