Michael Cox reviews the infamous musical 'that proves to be far smarter than its smut-filled language suggests'.
The Mormons are here! Thank Joseph Smith and hallelujah! Nearly ten years after opening in the West End and numerous COVID delays, The Book of Mormon finally says ‘Hello’ to Scotland.
The award-winning, record smashing musical is a modern theatrical behemoth, and with the amount of buzz that is following in its wake, expectations are high. Thankfully, Mormon more than delivers: it is a genuinely hilarious production that proves to be far smarter than its smut-filled language suggests.
Elder Price and Elder Cunningham have high expectations for their two-year missionary work. Price has prayed with all his might to be assigned to Orlando; Cunningham has prayed as hard to finally have a best friend and hopefully win acceptance from his family. Everyone else has been sent to desirable first-world countries: Price and Cunningham are sent to Uganda, where their once comfortable life in Salt Lake City is completely upended by poverty, illness and political upheaval.
All the seeds for a comedy.
The creative team consists of Robert Lopez (Avenue Q and Frozen, amongst many other credentials), Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the brains behind South Park and Team America: World Police), so the musical comes with an impressive pedigree of comedy that gladly swims in controversial waters. Yet those who know Lopez, Parker and Stone’s work will know that behind the shock and close-to-the-knuckle material lies a glowing humanity that’s filled with intelligent insight. There’s also the fact that the musical takes two groups that are easy targets for ridicule—tribal Africans and missionary Mormons—and actually makes them likeable and empathetic.
And the comedy is relentless. It just might have the biggest laugh-a-minute ratio with its joke-infused book and lyrics, and the direction (between Parker and Casey Nicholaw, who also serves as choreographer) is both sharp and filled with constant clever visual gags.
The cast of the current UK tour are terrific across the board. Robert Colvin is solid as straight man Elder Price: funny, youthful and overly confident without being annoying, and his mannerisms and interactions with the company are second to none. Conner Peirson is a delightful bundle of energy as Elder Cunningham, a character whose love of sci-fi and desire to be liked drives him to hilarious embellishments. The rest of the company are equally wonderful, with terrific standouts by Jordan Lee Davies as the hilarious closeted Elder McKinley and a brilliant turn by Aviva Tulley as Nabulungi—a local young woman whose interaction with the missionaries drives the plot.
Much has been made about The Book of Mormon’s blue language, and there is no point in denying that it tackles difficult subjects with a machine gun rat-it-tat forcefulness that doesn’t pull punches: it goes in outrageous directions that can offend, only to go even further at each plot turn. Yet under the outrageousness is a pure heart and a message about togetherness and community: even at its most base, the musical wants to be liked.
The Book of Mormon is at the Edinburgh Playhouse until October 8th. It will be at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow in November.
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