The Book of Mormon 2012 Tickets
If you are into religious satire and want to take entertainment to the next level, then the musical The Book of Mormon should be in your list of to-watch musicals. Its book, lyrics and music are created by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Best known for creating the animated comedy South Park, Parker and Stone co-created the music with Lopez, who co-wrote and co-composed Avenue Q. The show lampoons organized religion and traditional musical theatre, reflecting the creators’ lifelong fascination with Mormonism and musicals. If you have seen South Park, you’d know what their definition of satire is.
However, if you think that this musical is also blasphemous, scurrilous and foul-mouthed, you may be proven wrong because according to some reviewers, “Its heart is as pure as that of a Rodgers and Hammerstein show. The same Rodgers and Hammerstein who wrote the beloved “Sound of Music” and “King and I,” two works specifically (and deliciously) referenced here. Like those wholesome, tuneful shows, “The Book of Mormon” is about naïve but plucky educators set down in an unfamiliar world, who find their feet, affirm their values and learn as much as they teach.”
The Book of Mormon tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naive and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share the Book of Mormon, one of their scriptures—which only one of them knows very well—but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are more worried about war, famine, poverty, and AIDS than about religion.
It took seven years before it was completed. It only opened on Broadway last year. However, it’s not something that musical fanatic could avoid. The Book of Mormon has garnered positive critical response and numerous theatre awards including nine Tony Awards, one of which was for Best Musical and Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. An original Broadway cast recording was released in May 2011 and became the highest-charting Broadway cast album in over four decades, reaching #3 on the Billboard charts.
“The musical has some very positive things to say about Mormons, who are depicted as naïve but committed to helping everyone they can and trying to improve their corners of the world. There are some missteps, to be sure. The song “Spooky Mormon Hell” is hilarious but theologically inaccurate. Although Mormons believe that a tiny fraction of humankind may spend eternity in outer darkness, it’s nothing like the Jonathan Edwards-styled fire-and-brimstone hell depicted in Elder Price’s nightmare,” according to another review.
The musical isn’t solely about religion, it’s an entertainment piece. It’s mean to make people amused and happy, it’s a feel-good musical that would make hearts sing. However, it’s not close to something that would make you want to convert. A professor of Mormon studies, Richard Bushman explained it in very few words, “the musical was not meant to explain Mormon belief.” And it wasn’t. It’s meant to be a musical, to inspire and serenade. Get The Book of Mormon tickets at discount musical ticket stores online.
