I know, I KNOW. I am years behind the eight-ball here. The Book of Mormon came out in 2011 to critical acclaim.
It also took us about 5 years to see Wicked, so I guess we are right on course.
Anyway, we missed The Book of Mormon last year at the Kennedy Center because it sold out–except for the $385 box seats–in a flash. And while I wanted to see it, I really don’t enjoy theater enough to justify $385 (and up) box seats. For anything. So we didn’t go.
This year, I got an early email from The Kennedy Center and was sure to get on their website right away to get (cheap) tickets. Because, Jeff loves Southpark and I really wanted to see the Book of Mormon.
I grew up in a town with many, many Mormons. Many were good friends of mine in school. Hell, even my Homecoming date sophomore year was Mormon. Some ‘left’ the religion for a bit, but most returned as they got older. Some families were very strict, some were very accepting. I know girls who had 4 kids by 21; I know of one very Mormon family that has embraced(!) their gay son (and his husband) who were married (guessing that didn’t happen in the Temple). Just like with any other religion, people interpret/feel/do/act/decide things differently.
As to avoid getting myself into deliberations about religion–which I really don’t enjoy–I will leave it to say that I was really interested to see the play and how they portrayed Mormon missionaries, something which many of my high-school classmates became. Plus, I love Africa. And I was just in Uganda in 2013.
And it makes me laugh when we go somewhere and we see Mormon missionaries. Because they are literally everywhere. Just saying, but the amount of funding they have to deploy people worldwide on that scale is, well, incredible. I’ve seen them in Cambodia, Rwanda, Costa Rica…the list goes on and on.
Back to the play. This musical is the best musical I’ve ever seen; I laughed the entire time. For a person who hates stand-up comedy, dislikes childish potty humor, and prefers British sarcasm, this is a huge success. It is hilarious.
Now, if you are offended by jokes about any of the following: the heavenly father (that never end), inappropriate behavior, violence, genital mutilation, and/or bad language…this play is NOT for you. Dear husband walked out behind an older couple that was clearly stunned by the experience and I’m sure they either never discussed what they saw/heard again, or spent long hours over cribbage analyzing what the hell is wrong with the critics who gave the musical such praise and the rest of the world. Such is life. Given the roaring laughter at nearly every turn, I’d say most of the crowd loved it as much as we did.
Better late than never! The cast was wonderful and the Kennedy Center is stunning, as always (no photos though, in the Kennedy Center Opera House. Sorry.)
And if you want to know what Hasa Diga Eebowai means, well, that’s what google is for, dear friends. I’m trying to keep my potty language at a minimum.
