There’s something so endearing and yet so terrifying about ‘The Book Of Mormon’ – and that’s what makes it such a success. There’s a total lack of fear when it comes to stepping on toes, and a simultaneous willingness to explore genuine emotion.
‘The Book Of Mormon’ comes from the same writers of ‘South Park’, and it only takes a few seconds of the musical for that connection to show itself. This is not a musical for the faint of heart, or those prone to pearl-clutching. . . And it’s relentless in reminding you of that. As long as you can walk into ‘The Book Of Mormon’ with this in mind, you’ll likely have a hell of a time. . . No pun intended.
Sean Johnston and Nick Cox lead the charge as Elder Price and Elder Cunningham respectively, each bringing their own excellent flair to the stage. Sean’s Elder Price is pathologically positive with dreams of heading on a mission to Orlando, Florida and achieving his own greatness. . . While Nick’s Elder Cunningham is just happy to be there and up for anything. The two share remarkable chemistry on stage, despite their differing motives and intentions: ‘You And Me (But Mostly Me)’ showcases this perfectly, filled with hilarious staging and blocking which perfectly highlights the pair’s unlikely match-up.
Paris Leveque is fantastic as Nabulungi, delivering some particularly stirring vocal performances in ‘Sal Tlay Ka Siti’ and ‘Baptise Me’, but also hitting comedic notes with dazzling panache and commanding attention. Tom Struik’s Elder McKinley shines with hysterical nuance – playing on that classic stereotype of the mormon deep in the closet. . . Particularly in ‘Turn It Off’, one of the show’s highlights musically.
Image © Daniel Boud
Augie Tchantcho’s General walks the line of being horribly intimidating and sidesplittingly funny, and Mickey Nixon’s fascinating and disturbing ‘downstairs’ problem makes for a brilliant, shameless running gag which gets funnier each time it resurfaces.
Set design is effective, particularly impressive and layered during scenes set in Uganda, and thrillingly dynamic during ‘Spooky Mormon Hell Dream’, which feels like a real, chaotic nightmare.
Musically, ‘The Book Of Mormon’ of course leans into African-inspired choral arrangements at times. . . But with incredibly explicit lyrics. This more traditional-sounding music, paired with some of the worst curse words you could imagine, makes for countless of those moments where you’re not sure whether to cringe, or simply burst out laughing.
This is the art of ‘The Book Of Mormon’ – it’s perhaps one of the most groundbreaking shows on stage, not least for its bold approach to some pretty sensitive topics but also for its incredibly intelligent writing. These aren’t jokes for the sake of tearing down any particular community – they’re cleverly written with tongue firmly planted in cheek, and a strong desire to elicit laughter from everyone in attendance. . . No matter who you are.
’The Book Of Mormon’ continues defiantly on the trail it has blazed, as a bitingly uproarious piece of musical theatre jam-packed with unapologetic, searing commentary, shocking lyrics, and, at its core, real heart.
★★★★★
