"The Book Of Mormon" is not merely the most American musical of the century, it is also the most sentimental work the South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have put their name on.
A satire about two Mormon Missionaries in Uganda seriously failing to connect with the denizens of a village with bigger worries than Joseph Smith, pretends to be cutting edge theological satire but it isn't really. It is really difficult to fun on Mormonism. Though, as faith's go, not that far out, anytime one of your testaments comes from the 19th Century, you don't have the distance to imprint much tradition upon it.
Elder Price (Andre Rannells) graduates from the Church Of Latter Day Saints and hopes to be assigned to Orlando on his two year Mission to spread the Book, instead he gets sent to Uganda with an overweight congenital liar Elder Cunningham, where he finds other Elders who have failed to baptize any of the villagers. The villagers are suffering through starvation, an AIDS epidemic and a psychotic General who wants to cut off all the women's clitorises. In an effort to escape from the brutal General, the Villagers join the Church and await to leave for paradise, aka Salt Lake City. Heavy for a comedy and it isn't really played for laughs, it is one of those things where the surroundings are played for laughs but when the General shoots a villager dead, it is serious stuff.
So what's wrong with the Tony Award winning Best Musical of 2011.
1. I got a mezzanine ticket for $155. I can't see $50 worth of scenic design or stage craft. Why these obscene prices?? Because of the orchestra? What orchestra? Keyboards, guitars,bass, drums, reeds, trombone, trumpet, violin. Take away the violin and you have a jazz band. Where's the expenses to allow these ridiculous prices?
2. It is a hard coated work with a soft soap center. It doesn't REALLY have an opinion about God over and above if it works it works. Fair enough but not really controversial. I would guess this is the Robert Lopez effect: both Stone and Parker are not afraid to get really nasty, but "Avenue Q" walked a similar line between controversy and sentimentality. It is a very American and very successful concept but it is a little bland. If "Hasa Diga Eebowai" (aka "Fuck You God") offends you, you must be… actually, I have no idea who you must be.
3. The Music. I wrote about the soundtrack a couple of months ago, and while the show has its showstoppers, it is more due to dance and lyric then actual memorable tunes of which I count… none? OK, maybe all that "Tomorrow Is A Latter Day" stuff is sweetly melodic, but even the biggest songs are not memorable SONGS. eseentially, the are show type numbers for dancers and parodies of showtunes.
And what's right with it?
1. Both the book and the lyric are excellent. Whether or not it fails to shock, "The Book Of Mormon" is a superbly modulated story with no slack, always a joke away from a big number, and a story that hangs together very very well. Essentially, it is the story of a switch: Elder Price -the good looking, smart, Church leader in waiting, switches places with Elder Cunningham, the shlubby, unpopular sidekick. By the happy ending, everything is better than it was. The movement towards the happy ending makes sense and is deeply satisfying. It is emblematic of American excellence, or at least American positivism, and is structured in such a way that NONE are punished
The lyrics are often a wonder of wit, the opening number, an introduction to Mormons similar to the way we all probably first became aware of them, "Hello" is concise an clever start (paid off in the end as well), better still is "Baptize Me" where the writers connect baptisms to sex quite well. In number after number they push the plot with sidewinding smartass words.
2. The choreography is excellent, especially on a smart as a whip rip of the "Uncle Tom's Cabin" sequence in "The King And I", "Joseph Smith American Moses" with the commandment we can all agree on: don't fuck babies, fuck frogs. Casey Nicholaw is a pro, who was also responsible for "Monty Python And The Holy Grail".
3. The acting is excellent, especially Nikki B. James, who picked up a Tony for best featured actress in a musical (she plays the Village Elder's daughter and the first convert to Mormonism) and the singing is OK to very good, Josh Gad has quite a range, from Falsetto to Tenor.
So, yeah, I see what the fuss is about, but what is a musical where the music is nothing much, and what is a comedy when you've already heard the jokes? A good comparison might be with "How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying". Both are musicals about books that change your life, both are very funny, both are ensemble pieces and both are on Broadway right this minute. Their books are equal and so are the lyrics, but "Succeed" sounds better, has greater orchestration, much much better stage design, and finally, the music is substantial better in "Succeed".
Book: A
Music: B-
Lyric B+
Overall: B