Most of us have heard the doorbell go and opened it to find a pair of earnest Mormon missionaries keen to discuss their faith dressed in their trademark white shirts and black name badges.
Imagine if two of those naïve teenage missionaries were dispatched to Uganda to spread the word of Mormon founder Joseph Smith to a nation ravaged by brutal warlords, poverty and AIDS, and there you have The Book of Mormon.
Along the way, devout Elder Price and nerdy Elder Cunningham find out that the local population are just a tad cynical that any god will help them, but somehow through the violence and a not a few moments when their faith is sorely tested manage to find some common humanity.
It all sounds a bit grim, but this ribald musical is the brainchild of South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, so unsurprisingly there are plenty of really offensive gags along the way as they not so gently mock some of the stranger rules of a pretty new religion, but their cynicism could apply to any faith, or ideology, that demands blind devotion.
The secret sauce in this show is world class composer Robert Lopez, who is one of only 15 artists to secure the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony), and he delivers a series of big numbers seemingly inspired by elements of the whole musical theatre idiom. The South Park boys provide the often very naughty words in an unlikely partnership that somehow works.
On one level the creatives are interrogating what happens when you can’t think for yourself, and more broadly what happens when cultures clash, but it is also a skilfully crafted homage to musical theatre. Although there are plenty of laughs at the expense of a genre where people suddenly start singing and dancing for no apparent reason.
As someone who hates The Lion King, I really loved the first big set piece as the Ugandans greet the missionaries who have just been robbed by the local warlord with a gloriously cynical Hasa Diga Eebowai. You need to look up the translation to fully get the gag, but it’s a song a million miles away from the tweeness of other shows set on this continent, touching on genital mutilation, AIDS and child abuse that certainly sets this show’s irreverent tone where no taboo is left untouched.
A gaggle of Mormon missionaries led by the splendid Tom Bales as repressed Elder McKinley gleefully hoof through an increasingly camp Turn It Off. Even more fun is the crazed fever dream of Spooky Mormon Hell Dream, which manages to combine a Busby Berkeley routine, cleverly choreographed by show Co-Director Casey Nicholaw, with random guest appearances from Jeffrey Dahmer and Hitler in what has to be one of the most surreal musical numbers. The Mormon and Ugandan ensembles are all top-class performers combining perfectly to poke fun at western pop star wannabe saviours as they belt out the deliberately cheesy anthem, I Am Africa. The looks of incredulity on the Ugandan faces as the Mormons shove them aside to proclaim they are Africa is worth the admission price alone.
Adam Bailey is wonderfully oily as devout Elder Price and his I Believe as he regains his faith is oddly moving. Sam Glen’s Elder Cunningham hilariously steals every scene but gets to the heart of a boy who is an outrider in every way possible. Newcomer Nyah Nish is another scene stealer filling this big theatre with her wistful Sal Tlay Ka Siti, as she dreams of a new life far away in a mythical paradise called Utah.
This is not a show for the easily offended, or people who aren’t free thinkers, but it does make you think about the price of blind faith and our troubled world, while enjoying some top class and really filthy musical theatre.
The Book of Mormon is at Bradford Alhambra until Saturday 23rd November. To book 01274 432000 or www.bradford-theatres.co.uk
Reviewer: Paul Clarke
Reviewed: 6th November 2024
North West End UK Rating: