BWW Reviews: THE BOOK OF MORMON Enthralls Yet Again at Kennedy Center

A few years ago, the Tony Award-winning musical comedy The Book of Mormon played the Kennedy Center to a sellout crowd. It even crashed the ticketing website the day that tickets went on sale to the public. This summer, Trey Parker (South Park), Robert Lopez (one half of the writing teams for Avenue Q and Disney's Frozen), and Matt Stone's (South Park) cheeky look at Mormon missionary infiltration of Uganda has returned to the Kennedy Center yet again and offers a national tour theatrical experience that's pretty rare in this day and age.

What's rare about it? Even serious musical theatre snobs such as myself who have never seen a South Park episode wrote can see the merits of Parker and Stone's crudely funny work along with the tremendously talented Robert Lopez. At the same time, The Book of Mormon also brings in audiences that might not otherwise desire to experience a musical, especially an original one. And you know what? Both groups can have a great time.

Apart from some sound issues that crept up every now and again on the night I saw it - and to be fair, these issues plague most any musical playing the Opera House - the production is in stellar shape. Dazzling singing, acting, and dancing are certainly on display and the material the writing team has put forth - while certainly not family-friendly - offers a unique blend of heart and offensive charm (if that's even possible) that can't be found in many other contemporary musicals. It's an old-fashioned musical comedy - but not.

The musical, directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, allows us to follow two young Mormon missionaries to a small Ugandan village. They're just beginning their requisite two-year mission stint and could not be more different from one another. Elder Price (David Larsen) is the quintessential golden boy with a bit of a holier-than-thou attitude. He's also annoyed that he hasn't been assigned to serve in his favorite place on Earth (Orlando) because he's most deserving of the best placement. Still, he's determined to baptize every African he possibly can into the church so people truly realize he's just that awesome. He's also annoyed that he's been paired up with Elder Cunningham (Cody Jamison Strand). He's an adorakable and supremely creative young man who didn't pay a whole lot of attention at missionary training and is somewhat lacking in friends and self-esteem. Thus, Elder Price advises Elder Cunningham that things will work out much better for them if Elder Cunningham acts as his silent and agreeable sidekick and allows him to do the heavy-lifting in convincing the Ugandans to join the church.

As they arrive in Uganda, they both begin to realize how hard their work there will be. This Africa is most definitely not like the Africa they saw on the Disney movie, The Lion King. For one, there is this peksy warlord with a funny name (well-played by David Aron Damane). Elder Price has a crisis of faith for various reasons and Elder Cunningham is given a chance to shine. Through some interaction with local villagers - specifically a charming young girl named Nabulungi (Candace Quarrels) - and fellow Mormon missionaries, they begin to reexamine who they are, their faith, and the purpose of religion in a whole new way, but not without some obstacles along the way.

Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone revel in the chance to poke fun at nearly everything about religion, Africa, and people in general. AIDS, racial issues, the Mormon religion, African beliefs/culture, Western perceptions of Africa (you know, one blob of land/people that's all the same) - nothing is safe from ridicule. Yet, in the midst of the often exceptionally crude humor (the song "Hasa Diga Eebowai" is but one example), the writers - if one looks deep enough - offer a rather heartwarming story about faith and the restoration of it. At the same time, their numerous pokes of fun at overtly religious folks have more than a grain of truth in them. Although not Mormon, this reviewer grew up in an Independent Fundamental Baptist Church and spent a good chunk of time in my teen years knocking on doors and doing missionary work in a similar way. So trust me, some of the characterizations of the "faithful" are most apt and are one of the primary reasons this show can unexpectedly strike a chord in a good way with those that might not necessarily be the most comfortable at attending such a show. Songs like "Turn it Off" and "I Believe" are case in point.

The national tour offers some stellar casting and every actor is up to the task of bringing the satirical story to life. David Larsen's Elder Price is initially smarmy and supremely self-confident enough that his crumbling under pressure is just that much more believable. Although his strong tenor voice gets a bit too nasal for my taste, he delivers vocally. Cody Jamison Strand nails every ounce of Elder Cunningham's character and gets all of the laughs he should. What I liked most about his take on the role is that he makes it his own and resists any temptation to tread into 'campy and cartoonish' acting territory, which would probably be quite easy to do. His Elder Cunningham is annoying, but most definitely human and relatable to anyone who doesn't always fit in. As Nabulungi, newcomer Candace Quarrels gives a sincere and heartbreaking performance as the young Ugandan desperate for a better life. It's quite hard to believe that she's still in school for musical theatre. Her strong, lovely, crystal clear belt is put to good use in her numerous vocal numbers, including the memorable "Sal Tlay Ka Siti." Her sweet voice is certainly one of the production's major assets and she has tremendous chemistry with everyone onstage, most importantly Cody Jamison Strand.

More could not be said about the triple threat male ensemble cast members. Whether taking on Casey Nicholaw's fun choreography with reckless abandon glittery vests, playing it up as the worst people ever in Elder Price's "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream," or going for 'all out earnestness' in "I Am Africa," they give it their all and are among the major reasons the production is worthy of an audience.

Stellar writing and casting are not the only things this production has going for it. A 13-piece orchestra energetically plays Larry Hochman and Stephen Oremus' charts with the utmost precision. Scott Pask's detailed scenic designs serve the piece well, whether the story takes us to Uganda or elsewhere. Brian MacDevitt's lighting design proves to be an asset in some of the more intensely theatrical moments in the show, including the uproariously funny "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream." Despite some missteps in the sound engineering at Kennedy Center as mentioned previously - the levels weren't always consistent and at times the vocals sounded more artificial than I prefer - the technical elements go off without a hitch.

It's worth the trek to Kennedy Center for sure!

Running Time: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes, including one intermission.

THE BOOK OF MORMON plays the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts - 2700 F Street NW in Washington, DC - through August 16. For tickets, call the box office at 202-467-4600 or purchase them online.

Photo: 2nd National Tour Cast Members; Courtesy of Official Tour Website.

To post a comment, you must register and login.