The acclaimed religious satire has Simon Hale amongst an enthusiastic audience at the Alex.
Smash-hit musical The Book of Mormon has returned to Birmingham bringing with it its devilishly entertaining mix of blasphemy and hilarity.
The touring production of the show by the creators of South Park – Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Avenue Q and Frozen co-writer Robert Lopez – replicates the outrageous humour of the adult cartoon comedy series – sending up taboo subjects from famine and warfare to AIDS and female genital mutilation.
At its heart, however, is a satire not just on the religion of Mormonism but on all organised religions, as well as on Broadway and its musical theatrical tropes.
Having had the good fortune to watch The Book of Mormon on Broadway with its original cast in 2011, and again in London, it was a thrill to find that it continues to wear so well – its bad language and innuendo as vital to the satire as its catchy songs, Lion King-like sets and slick Busby Berkeley dance routines.
Much of the laugh aloud humour on opening night at the Alexandra came from the leads – Elder Price and Elder Cunningham – sent on their first mission to Uganda, as distant from the culture of Salt Lake City, USA as you can get. For Price, played with all-American confidence and enthusiasm by Adam Bailey, it’s a double downer as he had not only prayed for a posting to Orlando, but has been paired with Sam Glen’s Cunningham, an insecure and dependent science fiction nerd who is known to play fast and loose with the truth.
Together, the Latter-Day Odd Couple travel to a poverty-stricken village under the grip of warlord General Butt F**kin Naked where fellow missionaries have failed to convert anyone – and they try their best to do so in their own ways. Surrealism takes over as Price’s crisis of faith takes him to Spooky Mormon Hell where he meets the likes of Adolf Hitler, Genghis Khan and the Devil, before returning to his mission only to have his holy book inserted into his rectum.
In classic role reversal fashion, Cunningham who has never read the Book of Mormon begins to explain the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints through characters from The Hobbit, Star Wars and Star Trek, advising one villager what he can do with a frog to cure his AIDS.
He is also enamoured by the village leader’s daughter Nabulungi, who plays a key role in bringing the villagers, warriors and Mormons together in her touching innocence. In a beautiful voice, Nyah Nish sings of hope of a promised land in the witty song Sal Tlay Ka Siti, while Cunningham addresses her by everything but her correct name, from Neutrogena and Nutella to Nigel Farage.
It is impossible to praise this show too highly from the first song Hello when Mormons practise their home visits at the Mormon Training Centre, to the likes of Turn It Off, an hilarious camp number led by Elder McKinley (Tom Bales) to suppress certain sexual feelings, and a moving I Believe solo by Bailey.
There are no weak links amongst the cast and ensemble, all of whom act, dance and sing their roles with gusto. Excellent, too, are Scott Pask’s lush and intricate sets, costumes by Ann Roth, and lighting and sound from Brian MacDevitt and Brian Ronan respectively – not forgetting the superb live band directed by Danny Belton.
If there is a message to take away, then it is that playing it by the Book is not always as successful as applying a little creativity and imagination. This is a show that just gets funnier the more times you see it. Do not miss it.
The Book of Mormon is in performance at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham until Saturday, December 28th (Box office 0844 871 3011 ATGtickets).
