It has been seven years since the nine-time Tony Award winning best musical The Book of Mormon has been making audiences laugh out loud in spite of themselves every eight-performance week at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. Now, seeing it for myself for the first time, I'm happy to report that this irreverent and wonderfully adult musical comedy is pure Broadway paradise and a well-needed vacation from an insane world now riddled with celebrity and political sexual harassment, protests, gun killings and the president of our great nation of ours who may or may not know how to get the job done.
Not to get you confused, here is the show's plot. It about the white-shirt and tie Mormon missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who go across the world to help spread the word of Jesus to people searching for salvation and faith. Among those missionaries are do-gooder Elder Price (understudy Dom Simpson, at the performance I attended) and Elder Cunningham (Brian Sears), a Star Wars fan and a compulsive liar to boot.
The two of them are paired together to go to a village in Uganda, Africa. When they arrive, they see that the village itself has become riddled with AIDS victims, violence and a general who does his fighting naked. The villagers themselves curse God for the plagues that they brought into their homeland. One of the villagers, Nabulungi (Nikki Renee Daniels) believes that these two missionaries can help heal this already disastrous place and soon she dreams of going to the Mormon's homebase, Salt Lake City (or in her native language's terms, "Sal Tlay Ka Siti"). But it's going to take a miracle or a twist of fate for Price and Cunningham to spread the good news to a dark place like this.
This ever funny show is the brainchild of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Frozen and Avenue Q songwriter and EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner Robert Lopez and it winningly shows. Together, they created a terrific libretto and an excellent score that is as classic as it is contemporary recalling the glory days of early musical comedies such as Guys and Dolls and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. A highlight of this teamwork can be examined in the villagers reenactment of the story of Joseph Smith (the founder of the Mormon religion) in the second act, a takeoff on The King and I's "Small House of Uncle Thomas" performance piece.
The choreography by Casey Nicholaw and the direction by both Nicholaw and Parker are both first class. Scott Pask has created some nifty sets to show the creators' vision of what Utah and Africa would look like in their minds. Credit must also be noticed to Ann Roth's classy costumes.
In the two roles originally played seven years ago by Andrew Rannells (TV's Girls) and Josh Gad (the voice of Olaf in Frozen), Simpson and Sears make a swell and inspired comedy team and in the process, they bring in new audiences who yet haven't discovered this pure musical gem. As the liar missionary, Sears is simply giddy and lovable with a Jerry Lewis-like attitude. Simpson gives a perfectly sweet performance as Price. The rest of the show's ensemble cast, among them the already mentioned Ms. Daniels, Derrick Williams (as the general) and Lewis Cleale (as the president of the Mormons) are superb.
If you haven't experienced this already timeless and hysterical as hell musical comedy, ye all shall go contact the heavenly service of Ticketmaster or TodayTix. Afterwards, may they shall make their presence with their rewarding ticket to the house of Eugene O'Neill, for it is proclaimed that an unholy but marvelously righteous happening is occurring eight times a week. In the end, this critic shall deliver this commandment: Ye all shall go to The Book of Mormon and may they all enjoy.
The Buzz on The Book of Mormon:
Rating: **** (Don't Miss It)
Bottom Line: Hysterical, irreverent and brilliant, this acclaimed and celebrated musical comedy still keeps em' laughing after seven years.
Recommended Best for: Ages 18 and up. Contains lots of adult language, adult situations and sexual innuendos. If you have someone under 18 years in your care, best to leave them home with a sitter, friend or spouse. Trust me. Like South Park, this is totally adult.
Playing at: The Eugene O'Neill Theatre at 230 West 49th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue) for an open-ended run. For tickets, go to ticketmaster.com, todaytix.com/x/nyc or call 877-250-2929.
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