BWW Reviews: THE BOOK OF MORMON

The Book of Mormon has been the hottest ticket on Broadway since it opened in March of 2011. The brainchild of Trey Parker,Robert Lopez and Matt Stone (known for their work on South Park) the musical won nine Tony Awards and a Grammy and has been playing to sold-out houses for the last few years. It's quickly become the most buzzed about show in Toronto, with the entire six week run selling out well in advance of the show opening Thursday night at The Princess of Wales Theatre.

So does Book of Mormon live up to all its hype? There have been relatively few musical theatre productions in recent years with this kind of buzz. Hundreds line up in NYC for the chance to play the lottery, and it is not unusual to hear of people paying upwards of $400 for a ticket.

Is it a good show? Absolutely. Is it the second coming that people seem to be touting it as? Not necessarily. At it's core Book of Mormon is a traditional musical, despite it's insistence on crude jokes and envelope pushing innuendo. It tells the story of two young Mormons fresh out of missionary school. Elder Price (West End actor Mark Evans) is the over achiever, type A personality who has his heart set on doing something 'incredible'. He's paired with sloppy, uncouth 'screw-up' Elder Cunningham (Connecticut native and stand-up comic Christopher John O'Neill) and the two are sent to Uganda on their mission.

What ensues is a first rate satirical examination of the Mormon religion, as well as life in the Uganda village to which the boys are assigned. The performances are excellent, Evans has a beautiful voice and does an admirable job showcasing his character's internal struggle with his Mormon teachings. O'Neill is the stand-out as the goofy Elder Cunningham, delivering some of the best laughs of the night as well as showing off impressive vocal chops.

While all the performances are solid, the 'star' of this show is the material itself. It's quirky, creative, and perhaps most importantly, original. In an era where we've seen so many remounts, reprises, rehashes and various regurgitations of shows and material we've all seen and heard before, it's refreshing to see something completely new. The humour is not entirely what I expected (personally I don't find jokes about female genital mutiliation terribly funny and was not a fan of the fact that so many jokes were repeated ad nauseum) but I can fully appreciate what the creators have accomplished.

They've taken some truly offensive material, and presented it in a slick and shiny package sure to please people from all walks of life. It's has a traditional musical theatre arc, complete with show stopping dance numbers, eleven o'clock style ballads and an over the top final number. The opening night audience seemed a little slow to warm up, but by the end of the evening the laughs were coming fast and furious throughout the entire theatre. Young and old, people were enjoying themselves and embracing the material.

In The Book of Mormon we watch Elder Price attempt to do something incredible, and the show ends up doing the most incredible thing of all. It has created an entirely new theatre going audience. Amidst the crude and offensive emerges a juggernaut of a show, that is putting new butts into theatre seats. For that I say bring on the Mormons - it's time we all said 'Hello!'.

When and Where?

The Book of Mormon

The Princess of Wales Theatre

On now until June 9th

The show is sold out, but there is a lottery each night at The Princess of Wales Theatre. Details on the lottery policy are on the Mirvish website here: http://www.mirvish.com/shows/thebookofmormon

For last minute ticket availability, be sure to follow @Mirvish on Twitter and friend them on Facebook

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