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Is The Book of Mormon Good for Kids?
This is not a show for children. In addition to profanity and words that parents will not want their kids repeating (a sample lyric: "F**k You, God"), there is plenty of adults-only material in this musical. Topics include genital mutilation, bestiality, pedophilia, AIDS and much more. Sexual acts are simulated on stage and members of a gang that live in the missionaries' village carry weapons and violently threaten the citizens' lives. Get a babysitter and leave the kids at home.
The Book of Mormon Runtime is: 2hrs, 15min (1 intermission)
The Book of Mormon - January 21 to May 11
The Book of Mormon is one of the most wildly successful musicals of the past few years. The show currently boasts a Broadway production, a national touring production, a sit-down production in Chicago, a sit-down production in the West End-with potential future productions to come. To date, the show has won three Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score, in addition to numerous others, including the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
But why has the Book of Mormon been so successful? Both the critical and popular response to the show has praised its music, story, script-and even its themes. This type of praise for the show may come as a surprise to those who view the musical's primary creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, as nothing more than comedians who produce the hit-comedy show South Park. The Book of Mormon, like South Park, features outrageous humor which pushes the boundaries of humor to the very extremes-with a storyline that not only satirizes the Mormon religion, but features controversial topics like homosexuality in the context of the Christian religion, the authenticity of religious scripture, and even violence against women in Africa.
Critics have praised the show for its smart humor against the very nature of Broadway itself. The show not only features nods to songs like The Telephone Hour from the popular show Bye Bye Birdie, but many reoccurring motifs that will have fans of Broadway laughing in their seats. References to other popular shows include nods to Wicked: the Musical, The Lion King: the musical, and even Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I.
The show, however, is not all satire and controversy. Both the professional critics and audience response to the show have characterized it as having an optimistic, even positive message: that religion is, by itself, not something to be condemned, as long as it is being used to improve people's lives and make them happier, without infringing on the lives of others. As the main character, Elder Price, sings in the show's outstanding finale: "Who cares what happens when we're dead? We shouldn't think that far ahead!" By the end of the story, the strict Mormon religion in the show has shifted to something that focuses not on the fear of everlasting punishment, but on the importance of making people's lives better-today.
By: Dani K
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