Last night David, Marissa, Ryan and I were lucky enough to score fantastic seats for the first preview performance of the new Matt Stone and Trey Parker (South Park) Broadway musical The Book of Mormon. I don’t think I need to explain the tone of the show to any of y’all who are at all familiar with the humor of their animated series South Park … but for those of you not in the know, I’ll just say that humorous offensiveness is their brand of comedy. Because the show is in previews, I am hesitant to discuss specifics about the show but I will say that I LOVED every single second of the show wholly and entirely. It’s a show that is bound to enjoy some controversy but, IMHO, it will also likely enjoy much success from critics and the audience at large as a whole.

Trust me on this … the music and songs from The Book of Mormon are spectacular. Each song is excellent in both melody and lyrical content. There are things about the show that I loved so much that I can’t really properly explain because I fear they won’t make sense out of context. The basic story of the show revolves around a pair of companion Elders, newly trained in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and their mission to baptize converts in Uganda, Africa. Believe me when I say that more than just Mormons will be offended by this show. Stone and Parker‘s brand of outrageously offensive humor (which usually tends to offend everyone) is not for everybody … but if you get and enjoy their humor then you will LOVE this show. The casting is brilliant as is the staging. When compared to the $65 million dollar monstrosity known as Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, I have to give the huge advantage to The Book of Mormon. With far less money, The Book of Mormon is a much more solid show in terms of the story, the music, the acting performances and the all-around enjoyment factor. Spider-Man has amazing flying acrobatics … and that’s all. The Book of Mormon has got it all. My fave number is in Act 2 and it takes place in a “Scary Mormon Hell Dream” … the setting alone should give you an idea of what the show is all about. Everyone in our party LOVED the show. There was only one technical hiccup at the start of the show, resulting in us getting to see the BRILLIANT opening number twice … but it was only the first night of previews, so the tech glitch was not only expected but it was cheered for by the audience. Every single song resulted in an eruption of laughter and applause from the sold out house and every single person stood on their feet to give the performers a standing ovation even before the show was finished. There was a LOT of love in the audience last night. I fully expect big things for this musical. I’m sure there will be some controversy but, overall, I think people (and critics alike) will get the humor and appreciate the musical theater brilliance for what it is.

Here is video of Matt Stone and Trey Parker talking to Playbill.com about the show. They do provide some show spoilers, so watch at your own risk:

As for the official Mormon Church itself, well, they issued a statement about the show on behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before the first performance last night:

“The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people’s lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.”

I’m curious to hear what they have to say after they hear about/see the show. In any event, this show is NOT for them … it is for the segment of the population who are interested in a humorously outrageous take one of the major organized religions. Will it offend and upset some people? Yes, for sure. But I contend that it will really appeal to many, many people who can appreciate the humor. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if The Book of Mormon gets honored at the Tony Awards this year. It’s a great show, one deffo worth seeing.

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