There is no need to “just believe in” The Book of Mormon, like the characters insinuate through melodic and hilarious song and dance about the namesake religion – the theatre congregation needed no prompt for the standing ovation that welcomed the musical’s gala performance at QPAC on Wednesday 20 March.
The Book of Mormon is the only book that matters, according to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it is the crux of this religion that is pulled to comical pieces in the hit musical written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez and choreographed by Co-Director Casey Nicholaw. The show follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent on a mission to a place that is about as far from Latter-day Saints holy Salt Lake City headquarters as they can get. Considered one of the funniest musicals of its time, audiences will be swept up in the layers of storytelling, stuck in a blunt portrayal of the world through the eyes of an “all American” religion.
The musical is a must-watch for the stinging satire alone, the one-liners in jest providing comical commentary on a religion often overlooked in the river city. The ensemble is flawless, taking the crowd on dizzying highs of laughter and sinking depths of dread. It casts a stark shadow on the world religion paints in the hallowed pages of its writings, and the real world that is plagued by war and fear. While there are no twists or turns that shock the crowd (spoiler: Jesus dies … and then comes back to life) they are not needed. The sheer wit and humour is delivered with precision, never spilling into gaudy or over done territory.
But The Book of Mormon does make you want to read up about the religion that was so blatantly parodied to tell the fact from fiction. After my (somewhat shallow) research I can confirm while rhetoric about the church was subjective, the musical is rooted in truth, making it all the more enjoyable.
The Book of Mormon has notched up 823 Australian performances since opening at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre in January 2017 for a one-year run, before moving to the Sydney Lyric Theatre from February 2018 where it played for a further year. It will play at QPAC until 31 May 2019 before returning in January 2020 for a second season.
Readers also enjoyed this review of Queensland Theatre Hydra.
