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#1
03-14-2011, 04:09 PM
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Has anybody seen the Parker-Stone "Book of Mormon" musical?
Title's pretty self explanatory. I realize it's a long shot but thought maybe some NYC Dopers may have seen it in previews. Jon Stewart majorly lauded it the other night on his show and- while admittedly not an unbiased sorts- Parker and Stone said Mormons have actually been complimentary.
If anybody has seen it, what'd you think? Is Joseph Smith a character or is it strictly B.o.M. related? 
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#3
03-14-2011, 07:11 PM
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I've read it's pretty vulgar and sacrilegious, but haven't heard any specifics though. Does anyone know what some of the song titles are or subjects they touch on, or just have any examples of the sacrilegious stuff that happens during the show?
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#4
03-14-2011, 07:16 PM
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The Official Website is up now. It still said "Coming Soon" when I checked it earlier today.
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#5
03-14-2011, 07:33 PM
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I thought it was one of the worst interviews I've ever seen Jon Stewart do. I came away with no idea what the damn thing was about, except that it had something to do with Mormons. It took them forever to clarify that it was a stage musical in the first place.
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#6
03-14-2011, 08:50 PM
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Well, I have tickets for Thursday night so I'll come give a review afterwards.
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#7
03-14-2011, 09:01 PM
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Quote:
From the website, the plot centers on two mismatched Mormon missionaries (doesn't say how they're mismatched) on a mission in Uganda who use tales from the BoM to convert the natives. Last edited by Sampiro; 03-14-2011 at 09:02 PM.
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#10
03-15-2011, 10:19 AM
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I read an article on it somewhere - can't find it online so it must be the Sunday Times Magazine I picked up a couple of weeks ago.
It describes a musical number where the African people tell the missionaries that their resposne to all of life's woes is "f&^k You G-d!"- described as a "Hakuna Matata" like number. Awesome.
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#13
03-15-2011, 03:14 PM
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#14
03-15-2011, 03:21 PM
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Gushing never works for interviews. But Stewart has more than enough credit for me to give him a few passes.
Parker and Stone are brilliant at their best, but both seem like they'd be self consumed asses in person- particularly Parker. Both usually dress in that "too school for school" hobo fashion. Last edited by Sampiro; 03-15-2011 at 03:22 PM.
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#16
03-15-2011, 03:29 PM
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Their manner of dress is their schtick--in public at least. So is going out/giving interviews while drunk and/or tripping on LSD. Did you never see the picture of them at the Oscars dressed in Jennifer Lopez's and Gwyneth Paltrow's fashions from the prior year? Criticizing Matt and Trey on the basis of their lack of adherence to society's dress code is completely missing the point.
They probably are self-absorbed assholes, but they're fucking brilliant satirists and (I'm sure) multi-millionaires. I can think of very few people who wouldn't be totally jaded with humanity, in the same position, and refuse to participate.
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#17
03-15-2011, 03:33 PM
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I saw it last week.
It was not as offensive as SP could get, but it has it's moments. It's actually quite nice little story. While the origins of the Mormon religion get poked fun at, it's not as savage as you'd think it would be. An imaginary Joseph Smith appears in origin bits, but there is a coherent, linear story going on. The songs are brilliant. My wife & I loved every minute of it, and laughed our asses off. I'll happily answer questions, but I'll put stuff in spoiler boxes as to not ruin the surprise. For instance, the 'African song' mentioned above is a... SPOILER:
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#18
03-15-2011, 06:14 PM
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Quote:
Parker was actually fairly respectful to Mormonism when he played the missionary turned sorta-kinda porn star in Orgazmo. His character managed to star in porn films without compromising his beliefs after all. (For those who haven't seen that movie, I don't think it's a spoiler to tell the character uses a body double for actual sex scenes.) Last edited by Sampiro; 03-15-2011 at 06:15 PM.
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#19
03-16-2011, 08:01 AM
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Last edited by joebuck20; 03-16-2011 at 08:02 AM.
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#22
03-16-2011, 08:56 PM
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#23
03-17-2011, 07:36 PM
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#24
03-17-2011, 07:55 PM
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Stewart isn't a good interviewer. I usually turn off the show once they start. He never gives the subject enough time to answer, and is too busy trying to interject his own thoughts into the discussion.
But, as a big fan of Matt and Trey, I tried to struggle through it, and it was bad by even Stewart standards. Everybody was stuttering and interrupting each other's thoughts.
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#25
03-18-2011, 02:42 PM
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So, I saw it last night. I really loved it, it's quite funny... but of course only if you find South Park type humor funny. Unsurprisingly, if that sort of humor bothers you then this will as well. The overall commentary on religion in general is actually quite favorable, although yes there is definitely a good deal of profanity and blasphemy. I think being able to say objectively that certain things in (insert your religion here) are patently silly but yet I still believe is a more positive and powerful message than simple blind faith is.
The plot is just as AndyPolley said. I think I loved the African Song and the Mormon Hell Dream the best. I now know that Mormon Hell includes Hitler, Johnny Cochran and dancing cups of coffee  Quote:
My overall comment is that it is good, if you like that sort of thing.
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#26
03-22-2011, 06:22 AM
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The Show is Genius
Saw the show on the 14th. Big fan of South Park and traditional Broadway musicals. From beginning to end the show is a riot. The boys parody several shows such as Lion King, the Music Man, Chorus Line and Alter Boys. The songs are great. The dancing is terrific. As to Joseph Smith being a character, yes. But not in the traditional sense. They juxtapose the story of these two young missionaries with some background on Mormonism through some short vignettes.
If you get a chance to see it, it's phenomenal. If you're easily offended by language they use every curse word in the book in the show!
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#28
03-25-2011, 03:40 PM
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FYI, the New York Times review of the show is quite positive. I'd even call it a rave review. Here's the lede, "This is to all the doubters and deniers out there, the ones who say that heaven on Broadway does not exist, that it’s only some myth our ancestors dreamed up. I am here to report that a newborn, old-fashioned, pleasure-giving musical has arrived at the Eugene O'Neill Theater, the kind our grandparents told us left them walking on air if not on water. So hie thee hence, nonbelievers (and believers too), to 'The Book of Mormon,' and feast upon its sweetness."
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#30
03-27-2011, 11:36 PM
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#31
03-28-2011, 01:24 AM
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I haven't seen it yet, but everyone I've spoken to who has seen it has really loved it.
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#32
04-03-2011, 11:56 PM
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I just got back from seeing it. I bought tickets right after I saw Stewart gushing about it.
I enjoyed every minuted of it. Some of the shock humor was lost on me because I'm throughly desensitized to that sort of thing, but the whole thing was satire at it's best. The song that Stewart said he loved so much during the interview got an extended applause.
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#33
04-04-2011, 05:23 AM
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Stop the Presses! Brent Bozell doesn't like it.
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#34
04-04-2011, 05:45 AM
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I want to see it. I heard a great interview on NPR recently and it sounded fabulous and unexpectedly sweet.
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#35
05-12-2011, 06:20 AM
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I thought it worth it to resurrect this thread in order to point out out that the entire cast recording is available to hear for free on NPR's site here http://www.npr.org/2011/05/09/136054...book-of-mormon
It's still a few days out from the official release so it's nice for those of us very far from NYC to be able to sit and listen to the whole thing. My thoughts are that these guys know their musical theatre and this is just a triumph of musical comedy. I can't wait to see the Tony performance and whether this filthy but sweet show can actually pull off best musical. I know Avenue Q did it, but this is just a whole different level of content acceptability.
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#36
05-12-2011, 09:30 AM
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I saw the show over the weekend and loved every minute of it! It was easily the funniest show I've ever seen. I could not believe some of the things they said, which just made them funnier! The music was catchy and the actors had great chemistry together.
It really is a great show, I hope it does very well at the Tonys!
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#38
05-12-2011, 10:00 AM
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I do have a question for anyone who has both seen the show and listened to the cast recording that I linked to a few posts earlier.
Is there anything about the show that is notably different from what is in that recording, anything especially creative in the book, or any significant visual elements that you feel add to the show that you are completely blind to if you just listen to the recording? I mean I'm sold just based on the recording alone, but I'd be interested to hear all the awesomeness I'm missing out on.
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#39
05-12-2011, 11:17 AM
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You don't get to see the really exuberant Mormon boys dancing around.
You miss seeing the people of Uganda and how the Mormons react to them. There are also plenty of visual jokes that you don't see in the recording. Especially in the Mormon hell dream song.
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#40
05-12-2011, 12:19 PM
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#41
05-12-2011, 12:50 PM
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We saw it over the weekend, too - Saturday matinee showing. I am a big South Park fan and have a strange fascination with Mormonism (plus I like musicals), so I came in with very high expectations.
And they were met. It's not just the funniest, but also the smartest show I've seen, and it also has a big, big heart at the very center of it all. I'll admit that after the 1st intermission, I was somewhat concerned because while I was really enjoying myself, I hadn't yet had any of those blushing belly laugh moments I was hoping for. But, Heavenly Father, does the 2nd act deliver all of that in a big way. Without giving too much away, there's a "play within the play" sort of thing that was, simply, one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen - on the soundtrack, this is "Joseph Smith, American Moses," but about 80 percent of the comedy is lost if you're not seeing it in person. Absolutely riveting - this got the biggest response of the show from the audience. I also lost my shit laughing whenever Jesus spoke during the vignettes about the origins of Mormonism. (When Jesus talks in these parts, the actor is lip syncing over a recording done by Trey Parker.) This was also the first Broadway show I've been to where the standing O at the end wasn't obligatory or forced or at all reluctant. The whole audience was on its feet within 10 seconds. Can't wait to buy the cast recording later this month. Hasa Diga Eebowai!
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#44
05-12-2011, 01:59 PM
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