If you had told me when I was at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994 that the man peddling a hotel screening of a musical film about an American cannibal would not only go on to create the “The Book of Mormon,” which would win an armful of Tony Awards and become the first great musical of this new century, I would have laughed.
Funny how time flies, but even more important is what we do with that time, as evident now as this still hard-to-score (on Broadway) smash “Book of Mormon” rolls into Grand Rapids for six days of performances.
Trey Parker (“Cannibal! The Musical”), along with his “South Park” writing partner Matt Stone, have both spent their entire careers lampooning society in this wildly popular Comedy Central series, so that they wanted to tackle Mormonism as a Broadway show is a no-brainer for most. That is except for one important point: the musical is solid and echoes the advances that made the American Musical Songbook one of the greatest in the world.
“The Book of Mormon” is the story of two youthful (and a bit naive) missionaries who shipped off to Uganda in attempt to convert them to the Mormon religion.
The production’s leads include Elder Price as a real enthusiastic missionary dedicated to his faith, while the socially awkward co-lead, Elder Cunningham, is a nerdy and ultimately socially inept truth seeker that ultimately leads him into trouble.
Set in Uganda, these two Elders begin to encounter a different world than where they came from as they address the nation’s AIDS crisis, poverty and a land embroiled in violence.
New York Times critic
Ben Brantley wrote when this production debuted in 2011, “This is to all the doubters and deniers out there, the ones who say that heaven on Broadway does not exist, that it’s only some myth our ancestors dreamed up. I am here to report that a newborn, old-fashioned, pleasure-giving musical has arrived at the Eugene O’Neill Theater, the kind our grandparents told us left them walking on air if not on water. So hie thee hence, nonbelievers (and believers too), to ‘The Book of Mormon,’ and feast upon its sweetness."
And while we may all find moments in this production where we squirm a bit in our seats, the best part is that this is a musical filled with a heart and something I would have never guessed possible when I met Trey Parker decades ago in his home state of Utah. And that is what makes even the most challenging of theatre a beautiful experience: when the curtain falls on the final act, we know we have all enjoyed a wonderfully crafted journey.
Admission: Starting at $65. The Book of Mormon offers a limited number of $25 tickets made available via a lottery system.
Entries will be accepted at the box office beginning two and a half hours prior to each performance. Two hours before curtain, names will be drawn for these limited number of seats. Only one entry is allowed per person. And the box office will check to ensure you have not cheated so play fair, ok?