The Book of Mormon

I finally was able to see Broadway's newest mega-hit, The Book of Mormon, today, after securing myself a ticket several months ago. While the musical was quite different from what I expected it to be, I still ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

Written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone along with Tony-winning Avenue Q writer Robert Lopez, The Book of Mormon took Broadway by storm earlier this year, winning nine Tony Awards including Best Musical. The original piece tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries, Elder Price (Andrew Rannells) and Elder Cunningham (Josh Gad) as they journey to Uganda to spread the word of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints.

I had heard from many sources that The Book of Mormon is one of the funniest musicals ever written, and one of the best to hit Broadway in recent history -- so, needless to say, I went in with high expectations. I would say that the show met them, but in a different way than I had imagined. While it certainly was funny, I wouldn't say it was the funniest show I've ever seen. I remember laughing out loud more at The Drowsy Chaperone, [title of show] and Speech and Debate, just to name a few.

But what surprised me about The Book of Mormon was how traditional it was -- and I mean this in the best way possible. I expected this to be a sort of "anti-musical," a show that mocked the Mormon faith as well as the musical as an art form. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that Mormon seemed to respect its medium quite a bit. Yes, the story is humorous and frequently very crude, but I also think that this piece explores some deeper themes such as the importance of friendship/companionship and the contrast between blindly following organized religions your own personal faith. And they did all of this beautifully, uniting music, lyrics, book scenes and choreography to present this unique blend of humor and heart.

The cast was a delight; it's easy to see why both Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells were nominated for Tonys. Both were hilarious -- Rannells' rendition of "I Believe" was probably my favorite moment of the performance, and Gad is a master at balancing his humor and vulnerability. And to top it off, the two had amazing chemistry. Their duet "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" was second only to "I Believe" in my favorite scenes. I liked Nikki M. James' Tony winning performance as Nabulungi -- she certainly has an amazing voice -- but I still wish Laura Benanti had won for her performance in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. And Rory O'Malley was adorable and funny as fellow missionary Elder McKinley.

I really wasn't sure how I was going to feel about The Book of Mormon before I went in. I was convinced that all of the praise being thrown at it was going to make it unenjoyable for me, because my expectations would be to high. But even though it may not have been the musical I was expecting, it was still a great, great afternoon at the theatre. I can honestly say that it deserves all of its accolades, and I'm extremely happy that this completely original musical that's both comedic and heartfelt is filling the Eugene O'Neill Theatre to full capacity night after night.