By Laura Kennelly
What would happen if Avenue Q had a fling with South Park? Welcome to The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, and Matt Stone (both of South Park) and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q) now running through July 7 at Playhouse Square. The trio’s love child dominated the Tony Awards in 2011 and won Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Direction, Best Featured Actress, Best Scenic Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design and Best Orchestrations. Obviously, one has to see what the fuss is about, right?
So. It’s a musical full of great dance numbers, some that honor other musicals, including (most obviously) The Lion King. The story’s a simple one: two Mormon boys go off to save the world, learn more than bargained for, change.
The strong cast featured Christopher John O’Neill, who made us love the sweaty, earnest Elder Cunningham, a hapless fellow who didn’t really know the faith he came to Africa to teach. His “friend,” Elder Price was played by Mark Evans. Elder Price was the “star” boy, a young man who excelled, had a perfect family, and thought he had it made. Evans’s cartoonish expressions evoked South Park in their simplicity as did those of the scary good Derrick Williams (“General”), who managed to emote by rolling only one eye.
The potty-mouth-kids language (to be expected given the source) probably thrilled any middle-schooler in the audience and the medically explicit dialogue likely encouraged them to look up a few words when they got home, so perhaps that’s all to the good (for them). For those of us already vocabulary-blessed, it got a bit old (kinda like listening to Don Rickles). And having said that, it may sound odd to then complain that I wish there had been super titles because without the ability to rewind and hear things again, I’m sure some witty dialogue and delightful mispronunciations were missed, such as when the gorgeous Samantha Marie Ware (who played native maiden Nabulungi) pronounced “Salt Lake City” into a place of mystery. Her character endured many funny misrepresentation of her name, such “Necrophilia” and “Neuralgia.”
But the labored, heavy-handed satire of Mormon beliefs (in this age where school children are instructed not to even use the word “stupid”) sounded condescending and rude. I give props to Mormons nationally for either laughing at or ignoring the show, but the joke wore out long before the show ended.
Perhaps that’s why I’d suggest investigating the musical before relying on all the awards it won. Certainly the response around me was mixed: some obviously disliked it, but sat through it; others laughed all the time.
Bottom line: There was much to like (very good cast, good dance numbers), much to enjoy (OK music, nothing special), and much to ponder (is sitting through the first 3/4s worth the payoff in the last ¼?). I’d rather see Avenue Q again.
The Book of Mormon takes July 4 off, but otherwise performances are Tuesday – Friday evenings at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 1:30 and 7:30 PM, and Sundays at 1 and 6:30 PM. See PlayhouseSquare.org for further information.
Laura Kennelly is a freelance arts journalist, a member of the Music Critics Association of North America, and an associate editor of BACH, a scholarly journal devoted to J. S. Bach and his circle.Listening to and learning more about music has been a life-long passion. She knows there’s no better place to do that than the Cleveland area.
Cleveland, OH 44115