The Tony Award-winning “The Book of Mormon” is back in Providence. If you haven’t seen it yet, here’s what you need to know. The show was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the team behind “South Park.” With that in mind, the watch word is “irreverent.”
Soooo irreverent, and sooooo funny. I was grinning ear-to-ear throughout the show, and often laughing aloud.
Short synopsis: Mormon Elders Price and Cunningham are sent to Uganda on a two-year mission to bring converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Price (Sam McLellan) is considered “the smartest, best, most-deserving Elder” ever seen. Cunningham (Sam Nackman) is considered a screw-up with a talent for making things up. Together, they’re tasked with converting African natives to their religion, something that seems impossible.
They encounter roadblocks to their mission along the way – third-world issues, a “warlord who shoots people in the face,” a tribe of non-believers, AIDS and more – before a surprise twist results in great success.
That’s it. There’s not a lot of thought required here. It’s a buddy story, a struggle story, a triumph story. And did I mention? Soooooooo funny. Fun songs, great production numbers, and lurking just below the surface, a moral. I won’t share that with you – find your own!
From the fourth song in – “Hasa Diga Eebowai” – you know what’s ahead. I can’t translate that for you – it would ruin the joke, and it’s very adult. As is the name of the warlord/General who threatens Mormons and villagers alike.
Sit back and enjoy the show and the top-notch performances. Nackman is superb as Elder Cunningham, the missionary with subterranean self-esteem. He is so fun to watch in everything, especially when making things up to interest the villagers in the story of Joseph Smith, founder of the church. And he’s hilarious in “Man Up” and “Baptize Me.”
McLellan handles Elder Price with ease. He has so many moments to shine, but especially in “All-American Prophet” and “I Believe.”
Keke Nesbitt is perfect as Nabulungi, daughter of the villagers’ chief. Her rendition of “Sal Tlay Ka Siti” is sweet, and in “Baptize Me,” opposite Nackman’s Cunningham, she gets to show off her comic chops.
There’s a fun running gag where Elder Cunningham can’t quite remember Nabulungi’s name, calling her something different every time. Jon Bon Jovi, Neutrogena, Nintendo. You’d think the joke would get tired, but it has legs all the way through to the show’s finale.
The best review this show can get is to say that the end of each song was greeted with cheers and thunderous applause. That’s rare. And the standing ovation started from the moment the ensemble members came out of the wings.
So now you’re warned. “The Book of Mormon” is outrageously funny and so very irreverent. Stay for the whole show. Trust me.
“The Book of Mormon” runs through Sunday, November 5 at the Providence Performing Arts Center. Call 401.421.ARTS or visit www.ppacri.org for details and tickets.