This outrageous musical comedy follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word. Now with standing room only productions in London, on Broadway, and across North America, The Book of Mormon has truly become an international sensation. Contains explicit language.
ALL PERFORMANCES CANCELED BY CTG – THE BOOK OF MORMON
Reviews
No doubt like me, you will roar with laughter during the ensemble’s depiction of Elder Price’s recurring dream of Mormon hell, which includes every taboo subject to the faith from dancing Starbucks coffee cups to lust of all types, staged with eye-popping hellish costumes and scenery which moves into place in a matter of seconds, then disappears just as fast to take us back to Africa where Price must face his fellow Elders. Or you may think the funniest scene of the show is the depiction of the Book of Mormon via the song and staging of “Joseph Smith American Moses” put together by Nabulungi and the other Ugandan villagers, which of course has little to do with the real religious text, given Cunningham’s overly active imagining of the stories he has shared with them
The Book of Mormon is back, now more irreverently relevant than ever. In America’s Twilight Zone age of religion and politics—where a GOP-backed porn star president touts his “family values” while a gay candidate challenges him—the musical’s existential message is a must-see, even if you’ve seen it before.
The Book of Mormons is a ton of fun. It is old school Broadway. At its core, a sweet “road movie” that sends a redemptive message about personal faith and friendship that clearly shines through. With top of the line performances by a committed cast, great music, beautiful sets and lighting design and a frivolous hilarity, this show is a must-see.
Research reveals that every superlative in the English language has been written to describe this show. It's also Profane. Uncouth. Perverse and Perverted. Every bad word you were instructed never to utter? All get uttered! Wonderfully staged and surprisingly not the total put down of the LDS church that one might expect, all of the honors that this show has collected from Broadway to Timbuktu.. around the world (did it play in Uganda?) are well deserved. It's Fan effing tastic!
Parker and Casey Nicholaw co-direct again, meaning the show is the same as in its previous two tours through the area — with a few exceptions. Cunningham is more Jerry Lewis geeky. The Mormon’s district leader in Uganda, Elder McKinley (Andy Huntington Jones), is less militantly gay. And our view of the world has shifted. This time around, we just might be noticing all the lying, all the spreading of misinformation, all the delusion we allow ourselves.
Directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker with musical supervision and vocal arrangements by Stephen Oremus, THE BOOK OF MORMON is almost the perfect musical. The talented and enthusiastic cast is excellent. The entire production team does a bang-up job of scenic design (Scott Pask), costumes (Ann Roth), lighting (Brian MacDevitt), sound (Brian Ronan), and all the other tasks needed to bring THE BOOK OF MORMON to vivid life. This is a not-to-be-missed production.
Bad taste rules the day in Mormon; it is a paean to the dirty joke and it laughs like hell at mankind’s follies and foolishness, especially where religion and community are concerned. But the show also has heart and compassion in its DNA, and it is directed and performed with such skill and flair that it’s hard to speak ill of it.
This Production, the sixth I’ve seen, has moments that feel slightly less relevant than they may have nine years ago when the show originally opened, but the cast infuses so much energy and enthusiasm that it felt really fresh. The musical itself, shouldn’t be as wonderful as it is. It seems a gimmicky thirty-minute idea at best, but it deftly handles the broad over-the-top crass humor by offering easy jokes alongside bigger ideas of faith, friendship, and the power of belief. And the music is flat-out great.
Jointly directed by Nicholas and Parker, the production is slick and has just the right amount of humor laced with humanity. Stephen Oremus’ music supervision and vocal arrangements elevate this comedy. Brian MacDevitt’s lighting design and Brian Ronan’s sound design greatly enhance all the quasi-religious moments along with large ensemble production numbers. Andrew Graham’s music direction is integral.
There are many touches throughout that speak to the careful detail given to making sure that the offensive doesn’t offend too much and the message of hope for the future gets delivered. The current production at the Ahmanson is a high quality, fun, and well executed play.
While all the actors are really excellent, (especially the two main missionaries, Jordan Matthew Brown and Liam Tobin, and another one who’s already in Uganda when they arrive, Andy Huntington Jones,) it’s the fabulous singing of Alyah Chanelle Scott that I appreciated the most. This is her first big gig, and I predict big things for this young lady, so get in on seeing her now!
The Book of Mormon remains a perfectly packaged fusion of the satire our world desperately needs, and it’s both touching and furiously funny. The show filled me with golden tablets of faith that all is not lost for this classic American art form.
Mormons aren’t alone being royally skewered here, as Trey Parker and Matt Stone have always proven themselves to be Equal Opportunity Offenders. Like their always irreverent hit adult cartoon phenomenon 'South Park,' somehow Stone and Parker (who also co-directs and shared one of the production’s nine Tony Awards with Casey Nicholaw for their effort) can get away with any offense, something that personally gives me hope for the future in a world rather devoid of a sense of humor these days.
“The Book of Mormon” features book, music and lyrics by the primary creators of the hit-comedy show South Park, Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. Co-directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, the show cleverly opens with the captivating “Hello” song. Ten newbie Elders practice their door knocking skills, similar to “The Telephone Hour” from another popular musical “Bye, Bye Birdie.”
When the jokes land, as they often do, the audience responds with cascades of laughter. Songs are met with whoops and thundering applause. Mormons and faith in general come off pretty well. Belief, after all, binds us in communities, and working together, perhaps we really can make a paradise of Earth.
But in its depiction of black people, “The Book of Mormon” has always carried a fatal flaw.
It’s taken eight years of touring the U.S. for The Book Of Mormon to pay its first visit to the Ahmanson, but the 2011 Best Musical Tony winner’s distinctive mix of raunch, romance, hilarity, and heart make it a show worth waiting for as it continues to pack them in NYC.
No doubt like me, you will roar with laughter during the ensemble’s depiction of Elder Price’s recurring dream of Mormon hell, which includes every taboo subject to the faith from dancing Starbucks coffee cups to lust of all types, staged with eye-popping hellish costumes and scenery which moves into place in a matter of seconds, then disappears just as fast to take us back to Africa where Price must face his fellow Elders. Or you may think the funniest scene of the show is the depiction of the Book of Mormon via the song and staging of “Joseph Smith American Moses” put together by Nabulungi and the other Ugandan villagers, which of course has little to do with the real religious text, given Cunningham’s overly active imagining of the stories he has shared with them
The Book of Mormon is back, now more irreverently relevant than ever. In America’s Twilight Zone age of religion and politics—where a GOP-backed porn star president touts his “family values” while a gay candidate challenges him—the musical’s existential message is a must-see, even if you’ve seen it before.
The Book of Mormons is a ton of fun. It is old school Broadway. At its core, a sweet “road movie” that sends a redemptive message about personal faith and friendship that clearly shines through. With top of the line performances by a committed cast, great music, beautiful sets and lighting design and a frivolous hilarity, this show is a must-see.
Research reveals that every superlative in the English language has been written to describe this show. It's also Profane. Uncouth. Perverse and Perverted. Every bad word you were instructed never to utter? All get uttered! Wonderfully staged and surprisingly not the total put down of the LDS church that one might expect, all of the honors that this show has collected from Broadway to Timbuktu.. around the world (did it play in Uganda?) are well deserved. It's Fan effing tastic!
Parker and Casey Nicholaw co-direct again, meaning the show is the same as in its previous two tours through the area — with a few exceptions. Cunningham is more Jerry Lewis geeky. The Mormon’s district leader in Uganda, Elder McKinley (Andy Huntington Jones), is less militantly gay. And our view of the world has shifted. This time around, we just might be noticing all the lying, all the spreading of misinformation, all the delusion we allow ourselves.
Directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker with musical supervision and vocal arrangements by Stephen Oremus, THE BOOK OF MORMON is almost the perfect musical. The talented and enthusiastic cast is excellent. The entire production team does a bang-up job of scenic design (Scott Pask), costumes (Ann Roth), lighting (Brian MacDevitt), sound (Brian Ronan), and all the other tasks needed to bring THE BOOK OF MORMON to vivid life. This is a not-to-be-missed production.
Bad taste rules the day in Mormon; it is a paean to the dirty joke and it laughs like hell at mankind’s follies and foolishness, especially where religion and community are concerned. But the show also has heart and compassion in its DNA, and it is directed and performed with such skill and flair that it’s hard to speak ill of it.
This Production, the sixth I’ve seen, has moments that feel slightly less relevant than they may have nine years ago when the show originally opened, but the cast infuses so much energy and enthusiasm that it felt really fresh. The musical itself, shouldn’t be as wonderful as it is. It seems a gimmicky thirty-minute idea at best, but it deftly handles the broad over-the-top crass humor by offering easy jokes alongside bigger ideas of faith, friendship, and the power of belief. And the music is flat-out great.
Jointly directed by Nicholas and Parker, the production is slick and has just the right amount of humor laced with humanity. Stephen Oremus’ music supervision and vocal arrangements elevate this comedy. Brian MacDevitt’s lighting design and Brian Ronan’s sound design greatly enhance all the quasi-religious moments along with large ensemble production numbers. Andrew Graham’s music direction is integral.
There are many touches throughout that speak to the careful detail given to making sure that the offensive doesn’t offend too much and the message of hope for the future gets delivered. The current production at the Ahmanson is a high quality, fun, and well executed play.
While all the actors are really excellent, (especially the two main missionaries, Jordan Matthew Brown and Liam Tobin, and another one who’s already in Uganda when they arrive, Andy Huntington Jones,) it’s the fabulous singing of Alyah Chanelle Scott that I appreciated the most. This is her first big gig, and I predict big things for this young lady, so get in on seeing her now!
The Book of Mormon remains a perfectly packaged fusion of the satire our world desperately needs, and it’s both touching and furiously funny. The show filled me with golden tablets of faith that all is not lost for this classic American art form.
Mormons aren’t alone being royally skewered here, as Trey Parker and Matt Stone have always proven themselves to be Equal Opportunity Offenders. Like their always irreverent hit adult cartoon phenomenon 'South Park,' somehow Stone and Parker (who also co-directs and shared one of the production’s nine Tony Awards with Casey Nicholaw for their effort) can get away with any offense, something that personally gives me hope for the future in a world rather devoid of a sense of humor these days.
“The Book of Mormon” features book, music and lyrics by the primary creators of the hit-comedy show South Park, Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. Co-directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, the show cleverly opens with the captivating “Hello” song. Ten newbie Elders practice their door knocking skills, similar to “The Telephone Hour” from another popular musical “Bye, Bye Birdie.”
When the jokes land, as they often do, the audience responds with cascades of laughter. Songs are met with whoops and thundering applause. Mormons and faith in general come off pretty well. Belief, after all, binds us in communities, and working together, perhaps we really can make a paradise of Earth.
But in its depiction of black people, “The Book of Mormon” has always carried a fatal flaw.
It’s taken eight years of touring the U.S. for The Book Of Mormon to pay its first visit to the Ahmanson, but the 2011 Best Musical Tony winner’s distinctive mix of raunch, romance, hilarity, and heart make it a show worth waiting for as it continues to pack them in NYC.