Hysterical fun (definitely not for the whole family)
It said it right on the ticket: "Parental Advisory: Explicit Language." I really had zero expectations going into The Book of Mormon last night at the Marcus Center. All I knew was that the show was supposedly hilarious and clutch-your-pearls irreverent.
Well it certainly was irreverent. As my mom and I walked out of the theater, we heard a woman behind us say "That was the crudest thing I've ever seen." Very matter-of-factly. And she's right — it's not like any Broadway musical I've ever witnessed. To pit it against Les Miserables or Phantom would be utterly ridiculous: If those are the apples of Broadway, this show is a ginormous orange. But it's a juicy, hysterical, spellbinding orange, and I wish I could go back for more.
Those who know me well know I'm not into irreverent humor riddled with — as my Dad calls them — "F Bombs." It's just not my thing. And yet somehow this show had all manner of merits that, though I cringed at times, I was cringing through hysterical laughter. Oh, and did you catch what I said before about walking out of the theater with my mom? Even she loved The Book of Mormon (and "woo hoo!"-ed after a particularly racy number), as did the old guy who sits next to her. So if we three can check our somewhat pearl-clutching standards at the door, trust me — so can you.
And Broadway-loving ladies, I can't stress this enough: This is one to take your boyfriend to. Just as the Mormons in the show set out to convert a village of Ugandans to members of the Church of Jesus Christ (of Latter-day Saints), you too can set out to convert your fella to a Broadway-loving man. This is your stereotypical guy humor from the get-go — plus, just tell your guy that the whole thing was written by the creators of South Park. Done deal.
But okay, beyond the humor, this show rocked my socks in a totally traditional-Broadway sense. Though I've never heard the original soundtrack (so I had nothing to compare it to), the cast we saw in Milwaukee last night was, in a word, flawless. I didn't know such talent existed in a touring cast. This is, without a doubt, the best show we've seen at the Marcus Center this season in terms of the quality of the production (crazy-cool sets and transitions) and the star power of literally each and every member of the cast. How is it possible there wasn't one dud in the whole bunch? My mind is blown.
Then there's the music, which again harkens back to the humor. The melodies are seriously lovely and catchy with a classic Broadway vibe to them. Like, I'd call the tunes themselves sort of Disney-fied — which to me just means they have mass appeal. The humor comes in with the insanely clever and unexpected lyrics set to these mainstream-Broadway-sounding songs. For instance, there's an adorable duet called "Baptize Me" that's really all about first-timers having sex. But it's so well executed that everyone in the crowd was laughing and going "Awww!" instead of clutching their pearls. (That's a mild example compared to the rest of the show, but still.)
And I haven't even touched on the choreography, which also felt like they purposely used every cliché Broadway chorus line move ever created, in a totally cheeky way. It was hilarious while also being genuinely eye-popping and full of first-class talent. If you couldn't already tell, I loved this show from start to finish. And if you're wondering if all this hilarity and questionable humor has any heart, don't worry — it totally does. The Book of Mormon truly has something for everyone — except the kids. Don't bring the kids.
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