The Book of Mormon, by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone is a jolly, rollicking mocking, in song and dance, of the missionary obligation of young Mormon men in their white shirts and narrow ties as they go to the corners of the world to win converts. It's a fantastical trip with lots of tap dancing, on Scott Pask's imaginative set, costumed creatively by Ann Roth, that pushes the taste boundaries of stage possibility beyond belief in its use of scatological language and idea.
As the two protagonists, Andrew Rannells (clean-cut, straight arrow) and Josh Gad (chubby, funny, translating the Mormon legend of Joseph Smith into Ugandan myth) interact with a foreign culture, it is brilliant and hilarious. Nikki M. James shines as a Ugandan beauty.
Under Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker's snappy direction, with choreography by Nicholaw, there is an innocence, a sense of playful fun, about the show that transcends its lack of discretion. This is a great contemporary comedy that would have been impossible to mount just a few years ago. It will win many awards. Don't bring the kids.
