The hit musical The Book of Mormon opened on Broadway in 2011 before first hitting the London West End in 2013. The plot depicts two Utah born Mormon missionaries, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, as they embark on a charge to convert a remote village in Uganda to the ways of the Mormons. Easy right? Their sheltered upbringing provides the base of the comedy and the two cultures clash violently as the Elders attempt to teach the villagers the ways of the Latter Day Saints. The show also sees the evolution of Elder Price and Elder Cunningham’s friendship from forced religious companions to budding friends.
Boasting nine Tony Awards and a Grammy, The Book of Mormon’s credentials speak for themselves. The two hour, high energy, perfectly rehearsed and performed musical ticks all the boxes you’d expect for one of Broadway’s longest running musicals. The script, music, and lyrics, written by South Park creators Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone, while undoubtedly funny in parts, can also be described as morally dubious. It was hard to remove yourself from the largely racist “African” stereotypes of the Ugandan Village in which the performance is set, and jokes about female genital mutilation felt like an out of place and unnecessary addition to theatre in 2024. If you are easily offended or, and I hate to say it, consider yourself “woke” (and rightfully so) then this show will do more than ruffle a few feathers. However, if boundary-pushing, outrageously inappropriate media is your go-to, then this might be just the piece of theatre for you.
Putting aside the moral questions this production raises and leaving them for a different conversation, it’s important to clarify that a show is made in its cast and production, both of which were faultless. With spotless choreography alongside an instant ear-worm soundtrack, the Mormons know how to put on a show.
In its thirteenth year on stage, the production budget knows no bounds, with costume and set changes in abundance, from a Utah airport, to Uganda, to the great heights of longed for Orlando. These combined with incredible musical numbers made for a visual feast. The most riotous of the set changes came in the form of “Spooky Mormon Hell”, a musical number depicting unfaithful Mormons and Jeffrey Dahmer dancing hand in hand to a backdrop of flames.
Adam Bailey shines brightly in his portrayal of Elder Price and displays impeccable musical theatre vocal skill in songs ‘I believe’ and ‘You and Me (But Mostly Me)’ which he performs with ease, simultaneously executing complex choreography. His accomplice, Elder Cunningham, is played with loveable wit by Sam Glen as the buffooning Mormon succeeds in turning the heads of the villagers to Mormonism. Together, the duo light up the stage and their interactions with each other, and the rest of the cast, create the main comedic appeal of the show.
As under 25s we were in the minority in the room, perhaps a reflection of the production’s key demographic, and the reason it has been able to bypass interrogations into the problematic that may be necessary. The show certainly raises some interesting questions about whether jokes at the expense of ‘Africans’ are still acceptable, with its intended appeal perhaps lying in its treading of the line between offensive and satirical. At a time when the world is re-evaluating what we find funny, the theatrical appeal of The Book of Mormon goes above and beyond to retain its title as the funniest musical of the century. But at what cost…
The Book of Mormon is on at the Edinburgh Playhouse until Saturday 2nd November.
Image by Paul Coltas provided via ATG Press Release