They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of their own money, still unconvinced they would take it any further. The musical ultimately endorses the positive power of love and service. In addition, the central theme that many religious stories are rigid, out of touch, and silly comes to the conclusion that, essentially, religion itself can do enormous good as long as it is taken metaphorically and not literally. The Book of Mormon is the outrageous musical comedy from the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Bobby Lopez, co-writer of Avenue Q and Frozen, follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent on a mission to a place that’s about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get. Price and Cunningham are led to their living quarters by Nabulungi, Hatimbi's daughter. One group, the Lamanites, forgot their beliefs, became heathens, and were the ancestors of the American Indians. Two young Latter-day Saints are sent on a mission to convince the people of a small village in Uganda to become part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [5] The producers expected the production to cost $11 million, but it came in under budget at $9 million. Omissions? A production in Melbourne and the first non-English version, in Stockholm, both opened in January 2017. The producers charged as much as $477 for the best seats for performances with particularly high demand. Parker and Stone grew up in Colorado, and were familiar with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members. [17], The New York production of The Book of Mormon employed an innovative pricing strategy, similar to the ones used in the airline and hotel industries. Cunningham's conscience (personified by his father, Joseph Smith, Hobbits, Lt. Uhura, Darth Vader, and Yoda) admonishes him, but he rationalizes that if it helps people, it surely cannot be wrong ("Making Things Up Again"). [21] Following Rouleau's departure in November 2012 (to originate the role of Elder Price in Chicago), the role of Elder Price was taken over by Matt Doyle. On February 17, 2016, Nic Rouleau announced via Twitter that he would be taking over the role of Elder Price starting on February 23, 2016. Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon tells the story of God's dealing with Americans in the ancient world. "[85] The church released an official response to inquiries regarding the musical, stating, "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. The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Book of Mormon uses a nine-member orchestra:[54][55], A cast recording of the original Broadway production was released on May 17, 2011, by Ghostlight Records. [17] The production was originally headlined by Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells in the two leading roles. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints responded indifferently; however, they did purchase advertising space in its playbill in later runs. Productions in Oslo and Copenhagen followed. Rouleau and Platt left Broadway in January 2015. ", "It's time to talk about race and 'The Book of Mormon' musical", "Church Statement Regarding The Book of Mormon Musical", "Mormon PR leader: 'Why I won't be seeing the Book of Mormon musical, "Why I Won't Be Seeing the Book of Mormon Musical", "LDS Church advertises with 'The Book of Mormon' musical", "The Book of Mormon: An Opportunity to Set the Record Straight", "Richard Bushman: 'The Book of Mormon' is like looking into a fun-house mirror; the reflection is hilarious but not really you", "True or False? The official church response was something along the lines of "The Book of Mormon the musical might entertain you for a night, but the Book of Mormon,"—the book as scripture—"will change your life through Jesus." On February 20, 2017, Chris O'Neill and Daniel Breaker had their final performances as Elder Cunningham and Mafala Hatimbi. Enter the answer length or the answer pattern to get better results. On February 1, 2016, longtime Broadway stand-by K.J. They meet their fellow missionaries stationed in the area, who have been unable to convert anyone to the Church. [31] Gavin Creel and Jared Gertner reprised their North American tour performances. "[91] Bushman said that the musical was not meant to explain Mormon belief, and that many of the ideas in Elder Price's "I Believe" (like God living on a planet called Kolob), though having some roots in Mormon belief, are not doctrinally accurate. The Book of Mormon London is now celebrating over six years in the West End and booking until the end of May 2020 in Prince of Wales Theatre. It relates the history of a group of Hebrews who migrated from Jerusalem to America about 600 bce, led by a prophet, Lehi. [14] Hundreds of actors auditioned and 28 were cast. The Book of Mormon records the visit of Jesus Christ to people in the Americas following His Resurrection. During its first year, the show was consistently one of the top five best-selling shows on Broadway and set 22 new weekly sales records for the Eugene O'Neill Theater. "[14] Rudin and Garefino booked the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and hired key players while sets were designed and built. A dynamic, interactive, web-friendly presentation of the Book of Mormon. Rouleau was replaced by Dave Thomas Brown. The earlier version was based around how the third movie in movie trilogies is always the best one and sums up everything; which led to a recurring Matrix joke where a Ugandan man said "I thought the third Matrix was the worst one" which later changed to "I have maggots in my scrotum" in the rewritten version. They multiplied and eventually split into two groups. [90], Mormons themselves have had varying responses to the musical. She also explains that they will never see him again but protects his reputation in their eyes by saying a lion ate him. [39] December 14, 2014 was Pierce Cassedy's last performance as Elder McKinley. Strand's first performance was on January 30, 2017 as he left the West End Company to rejoin the Broadway production. The show was awarded nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. [5], Producers Scott Rudin and Anne Garefino originally planned to stage The Book of Mormon off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop in summer 2010, but opted to premiere it directly on Broadway, "[s]ince the guys [Parker and Stone] work best when the stakes are highest. [1] Matt Stone, one of the show's creators, described The Book of Mormon as "an atheist's love letter to religion. Price has had an epiphany and realizes Cunningham was right all along: though scriptures are important, what is more important is getting the message across ("You and Me (But Mostly Me) [Reprise]"). [87][88] Stone and Parker were unsurprised:[9]. In 2013, the musical premiered in the West End, followed by two US national tours. [5][8] Rudin advised the duo to see the musical Avenue Q on Broadway, finding the cast of marionettes in Team America similar to the puppets of Avenue Q. It’s The Book of Mormon, the nine-time Tony Award and four-time Olivier Award-winning Best Musical. 2.5 hrs, one interval. [81], In a retrospective interview published by Deseret News (which is affiliated with the Church of Latter-day Saints), Herb Scribner interviewed Cheryl Hystad, a retired attorney who had written an op-ed criticizing the musical in The Baltimore Sun,[82] stated that "most reviewers have not mentioned the blatant racism in the show, points to a subtler issue, a pervasive anti-Africa bias to which white Americans have been inculcated so thoroughly that few seem to have concerns about the show’s portrayal of Africans. [5] Developmental workshops were directed by Jason Moore, and starred Cheyenne Jackson. [91][92], When asked in January 2015 if he had met Mormons who disliked the musical, Gad stated "In the 1.5 years I did that show, I never got a single complaint from a practicing Mormon ... To the contrary, I probably had a few people – a dozen – tell me they were so moved by the show that they took up the Mormon faith. Hippensteel returned to Broadway and Ryan Bondy (who was covering for Hippensteel as the Broadway Elder Price stand-by) took over the role of Elder Price. Before the church responded, a lot of people would ask us, "Are you afraid of what the church would say?" Fairfax native makes Kennedy Center debut in The Book of Mormon", "THE BOOK OF MORMON National Tour Announces Closing", "General Auditions for The Book of Mormon", "The Mormons are coming: The Book of Mormon announces Sydney season in 2018", "Book of Mormon Manchester dates announced at Palace Theatre", "The Book Of Mormon releases Manchester and Sunderland tickets for UK tour", "THE BOOK OF MORMON Opens in Sweden 2017", "THE BOOK OF MORMON TIL DET NORSKE TEATRET", "Nye billetter til "Book Of Mormon" førte til nytt krasj", "The Book Of Mormon Official Zurich Website Tickets", "The Book Of Mormon Official Aarhus Website Tickets", "NPR Now Offering Free Listen to Entire Original Cast Recording of The Book of Mormon", "The Book of Mormon — Original Cast Recording — CD | Sh-K-Boom & Ghostlight Records", "The Book of Mormon Cast Album Will Get Digital Release May 17; In-Store to Follow in June", "The Book of Mormon Cast Album Debuts on iTunes Top 10 Chart", "Listen to the Hilarious and Ridiculously Catchy, "The Book of Mormon • Det Norske Teatret", "Literature that moves beyond stereotypes of the latter day saints", "Broadway Review Roundup: THE BOOK OF MORMON", "Missionary Men With Confidence in Sunshine", "Jon Stewart is somewhere probably STILL raving about, "Review of Broadway's 'The Book of Mormon, "Utah Local News – Salt Lake City News, Sports, Archive – The Salt Lake Tribune", "The Root: Is Broadway's 'Book Of Mormon' Offensive? Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. On January 1, 2017 Cody Jamison Strand had his last performance as Elder Cunningham. Sears was replaced by longtime Elder Cunningham (on both Broadway and the second national tour) Cody Jamison Strand. [8] Parker and Stone went to see the production during that summer and the writer-composers of Avenue Q, Lopez and Jeff Marx, noticed them in the audience and introduced themselves. All of the songs featured on stage are present on the recording with the exception of "I Am Here For You" (Reprise), "Orlando" (Reprise), "Hasa Diga Eebowai" (Reprise) and "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" (Reprise). [40] Bondy left the touring cast to take over the role of Elder Price in the Melbourne production. Its followers hold that it is a divinely inspired work revealed to and translated by the founder of their religion, Joseph Smith. Hippensteel temporarily covered as Elder Price. Though her protests to go out and talk to them fail, she calms down after remembering how she was moved by Price's promise of an earthly paradise and dreams of going to live in that new land with all of her fellow villagers ("Sal Tlay Ka Siti"). On August 26, 2014, Grey Henson took over for Loehr as Elder McKinley. The other group, the Nephites, developed culturally and built great cities but were eventually destroyed by the Lamanites about 400 ce. Both volumes of scripture are a compilation of teachings as recorded by ancient prophets. Before that occurred, however, Jesus had appeared and taught the Nephites (after his Ascension). "'South Park' duo goes Broadway: 'Mormon' is a 'pro-faith musical'". Take advantage of our Presidents' Day bonus! "All American Prophet" – Price, Cunningham, "I Am Here for You" (Reprise)† – Cunningham, "Man Up" – Cunningham, Nabulungi, Price, Doctor, Company, "Making Things Up Again" – Cunningham, Cunningham's Dad, Joseph Smith, Mormon, Moroni, Uhura, Darth Vader, Hobbits, Ugandans, "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream" – Price, Lucifer, Hitler, Genghis Khan, Jeffrey Dahmer, Johnnie Cochran, Ensemble, "I Am Africa" – McKinley, Cunningham, Doctor, Mormons, "Hasa Diga Eebowai" (Reprise)† – Nabulungi, "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" (Reprise)† – Price and Cunningham, "Tomorrow Is a Latter Day" – Price, Cunningham, McKinley, Nabulungi, Company, This page was last edited on 12 February 2021, at 14:22.

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