The Book of Mormon Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh 16th October 2024 Review
The Book of Mormon is at the Playhouse Theatre Edinburgh until 02 November, and judging by the audience responses tonight, this show has lost none of its appeal that has seen it win so many awards and sell so many tickets worldwide since its Broadway premiere in 2011. What makes this show such a success though? I asked myself this question tonight, as I did when I last reviewed it.
The creators behind “The Book of Mormon” are certainly no strangers to success, and Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park) teaming up with Bobby Lopez (co-writer of Avenue and Frozen) obviously was a dream-team pairing. As part of this team-up you were always going to get some of that South Park humour, and that is always a like or dislike thing with little or no middle ground.
This show is many things and probably different things to many different people too. Its humour can certainly at times be crude, and possibly offensive to some people, and even sacrilegious. How you view this show depends very much on how you see the world around you. The Book of Mormon has to be more than all of these things to have become one of the biggest stage musicals across the world.
At one level, this show is also a very American one where that unexpected ring from the doorbell can mean one of two things – either the Mormon elders are out spreading their gospel or the Avon lady is calling to bring you all of those things that you never realised you needed in your life. Perhaps both are selling the same thing?
At its core, The Book of Mormon is really an old-fashioned stage musical with some very sharply choreographed numbers and catchy songs. It also sets up very quickly that classic comedy duo routine with Elder Price (Adam Bailey) and Elder Cunningham (Sam Glen), and it is their ability to really hit the mark with some of their jokes and perfect timing, plus some very good vocal performances, that made this show such a hit with this audience tonight. Their humour smoothed many of the rougher edges of this script.
Underneath all the stage gloss of the big production numbers though, The Book of Mormon has some very dark moments, and the utter despair of the people living in the Ugandan village where the two elders are sent to be missionaries reflects so well that equally dark humour that many people with little or no hope in their lives have to adopt, just to survive another day in life.
For many people the big song from this show is the opening one, the door-bell ringing “Hello”, but for me this show’s song belongs to the young Ugandan girl Nabulungi (Nyah Nish). Listen to the words of “Sal Tlay Ka Siti" (Salt Lake City). This young girl’s hopes and dreams for a better life are heart-breaking.
As you might expect from the co-creators of this show, there is a lot of social satire and often biting commentary on religions in general here and if you are comfortable with the often irreverent lampooning of central religious persons then this could be a show for you. Obviously from the laughter from many in the audience this was a show for them tonight. If on the other hand you are easily offended by this approach, then you have at least been warned in advance.
If you just love an old style song and dance approach to your stage musicals then this show could be for you too. The spooky Mormon Hell number was an obvious crowd pleaser tonight and looked a fun place to be at times.
The Book of Mormon is what it is, and as with the religion that it at times so mercilessly parodies, completely in the eye of the beholder.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
The creators behind “The Book of Mormon” are certainly no strangers to success, and Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park) teaming up with Bobby Lopez (co-writer of Avenue and Frozen) obviously was a dream-team pairing. As part of this team-up you were always going to get some of that South Park humour, and that is always a like or dislike thing with little or no middle ground.
This show is many things and probably different things to many different people too. Its humour can certainly at times be crude, and possibly offensive to some people, and even sacrilegious. How you view this show depends very much on how you see the world around you. The Book of Mormon has to be more than all of these things to have become one of the biggest stage musicals across the world.
At one level, this show is also a very American one where that unexpected ring from the doorbell can mean one of two things – either the Mormon elders are out spreading their gospel or the Avon lady is calling to bring you all of those things that you never realised you needed in your life. Perhaps both are selling the same thing?
At its core, The Book of Mormon is really an old-fashioned stage musical with some very sharply choreographed numbers and catchy songs. It also sets up very quickly that classic comedy duo routine with Elder Price (Adam Bailey) and Elder Cunningham (Sam Glen), and it is their ability to really hit the mark with some of their jokes and perfect timing, plus some very good vocal performances, that made this show such a hit with this audience tonight. Their humour smoothed many of the rougher edges of this script.
Underneath all the stage gloss of the big production numbers though, The Book of Mormon has some very dark moments, and the utter despair of the people living in the Ugandan village where the two elders are sent to be missionaries reflects so well that equally dark humour that many people with little or no hope in their lives have to adopt, just to survive another day in life.
For many people the big song from this show is the opening one, the door-bell ringing “Hello”, but for me this show’s song belongs to the young Ugandan girl Nabulungi (Nyah Nish). Listen to the words of “Sal Tlay Ka Siti" (Salt Lake City). This young girl’s hopes and dreams for a better life are heart-breaking.
As you might expect from the co-creators of this show, there is a lot of social satire and often biting commentary on religions in general here and if you are comfortable with the often irreverent lampooning of central religious persons then this could be a show for you. Obviously from the laughter from many in the audience this was a show for them tonight. If on the other hand you are easily offended by this approach, then you have at least been warned in advance.
If you just love an old style song and dance approach to your stage musicals then this show could be for you too. The spooky Mormon Hell number was an obvious crowd pleaser tonight and looked a fun place to be at times.
The Book of Mormon is what it is, and as with the religion that it at times so mercilessly parodies, completely in the eye of the beholder.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com