Review: ‘Book of Mormon’ is profane and hilarious

SEATTLE — It’s profane, crude and sacrilegious.

And it’s oh, so funny, brilliant and well-done.

Yes, the musical “The Book of Mormon” makes fun of the Latter-day Saints and religion in general, but in the end it has a good message about faith, community and even the nature of God, who is surely big enough to handle being flipped off by African villagers suffering through maggots, AIDS, dysentery, genital mutilation and violent warlords.

So, yes, it’s much more complex than a bunch of dirty jokes and bathroom humor. Even the Mormon church hasn’t put up much fuss; they advertised in the playbill.

The national touring production of this Broadway (2011) Tony award-winning and Pulitzer prize-winning musical is playing through Jan. 10 at the Paramount Theatre. Written by the Emmy award-winning creators of animated series “South Park” — Trey Parker and Matt Stone, along with their friend Robert Lopez — the musical’s original cast recording also won a Grammy award.

The show will resonate with anyone who has watched even just one “South Park” episode. Same pop culture references. Same irreverent attitudes.

The story begins at a missionary training center in Salt Lake City, where young men are practicing ringing doorbells and giving their spiel about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The popular (and full-of-himself) Elder Price, who hopes to be assigned to Orlando, Florida, is teamed up with the geeky, goofy Elder Cunningham, who just wants to go wherever Price goes.

They are sent to Uganda, which is a tough blow to these boys, whose ideas about Africa are based mostly on Disney’s “The Lion King.”

When Price (the talented Billy Harrigan Tighe) and Cunningham (the perfect A.J. Holmes) arrive, they are introduced to the discouraged villagers, their bags are stolen by the warlord and they meet the young Mormon men who already have been serving there without winning any converts.

The missionaries, led by Elder McKinley talk about how they turn off their emotions, just as one would turn off a light switch. They suppress who they really are, they hide their sadness and mask any anxiety with big white smiles.

Vowing to rise above, Price and Cunningham try valiantly but in vain to convince the villagers that the LDS church has the answers.

A young woman in the village shows the most interest. Nabulungi (beautifully played by Alexandra Ncube) encourages Cunningham to step forward and begin to teach the people.

He does so, but to make it all the more understandable and palatable, Cunningham takes artistic license with the Book of Mormon

Price, pining for white, clean Orlando, goes off by himself and has a guilt-induced “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream.” In hell, Price meets Hitler, Jeffrey Dahmer, OJ Simpson’s lawyer Johnnie Cochran and others, including Satan himself. It’s one of the best musical numbers.

Price wakes up, tries again to proselytize and fails, and he ends up drinking coffee(!)

In the meantime, Cunningham and the other missionaries baptize all the villagers and LDS church officials fly to Uganda to praise the boys for their work.

To surprise the church leaders, Nabulungi organizes a presentation based on all that Cunningham has taught the community, complete with one of the Ugandans playing Joseph Smith in white face.

Uh, oh.

That’s where I’ll stop. Go see it yourself. You will be howling by now.

“The Book of Mormon” has fantastic ensemble members, choreography (by Casey Nicholaw), songs, costumes, sets, lighting and a talented orchestra, with both touring and local members.

I don’t know exactly why, but the musical numbers are not listed in the program. I suspect that the playwrights want the audience to be surprised and not anticipate what’s next. If that’s a problem for you, find Act One and Act Two online.

And when young men in white shirts and ties ring your doorbell, at least smile?

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @galefiege.

If you go

By now, “The Book of Mormon” is mostly sold out for the national touring show’s run through Jan. 10 at the Paramount, 911 Pine St., Seattle. Check ticket availability online at www.stgpresents.org or by calling 877-784-4849. If you don’t have a ticket, here’s an idea: Show up at the box office 2 1/2 hours before the next show, put your name in the ticket lottery and if you’re lucky you’ll have the chance to buy a ticket for just $25. It’s definitely worth the shot.