Missionary Position: Mormon Hits the Spot at PPAC

Jacques C. Smith as Mafala Hatimbi

Storming into Providence to baptize the unbelievers is the return of The Book of Mormon, the insanely irreverent Trey Parker/Matt Stone/Robert Lopez concoction that upends the classic buddy quest (and, yes, Lord of the Rings is certainly referenced) and manages to skewer both America and religion in one fell swoop. Two young Mormons are sent out to carry the message of the Latter-Day Saints in an impoverished Ugandan village and the resulting two hours are not only hilarious, but great musical theater to boot. As Parker and Stone told Limelight in 2017, “You have to start with songs. And if the songs start really speaking to you and telling a story then you know you’ve got something.”

And that’s the crux of Mormon’s success – these songs are polished, sophisticated, hummable musical theater delivered by a seasoned cast of touring pros, some of whom have been on this tour for years. Some touring productions feature not much more than polished glassy-eyed road warriors with rictus grins that barely hide their lack of enthusiasm at having to do a matinee in Tulsa. Mormon’s cast is clearly engaged and having the time of their lives, making the sweet, over the top sacrilege even more desirable. The three expository opening numbers, “Hello”, “Two by Two” and “You and Me (But Mostly Me)” are crisp (aided by exemplary sound engineering, at least on the Wednesday performance, which is no small feat given the size of the Mormon cast) and filled with precision choreography and performance. Obvious Osmond references aside, the first part of the show is a literal chorus line of toothy perfection. The two leads, Elder Price (a spectacular Liam Tobin, who comes across as the love child of Tom Brady and Daniel Tosh) and Elder Cunningham (a deliciously goofy Jordan Matthew Brown, who stands out in a cast of standouts) are tasked with spreading the word of Mormon to the villagers, even though the existing missionaries have yet to convert a single person. The cynical residents of the village greet their visitors with resigned skepticism, giving them almost the same advice that their Mormon brothers do, with just a different flavor. Village spokesman Mafala Hatimbi (played by Jacques C. Smith with a casual grace that allows him to stand out in a stage full of colorful characters. See Motif’s interview with Smith here) suggests that the way to deal with misfortune is to deliver a hearty “Fuck You, God!” (“Hasa Diga Eebowai”) while their Mormon brothers suggest that repressing thoughts and emotion is the key to happiness (“Turn it Off”).

Did we mention that this is all uproariously funny? As one would expect from the creators of “South Park” and “Orgazmo”, their humor comes in a perfect blend of sacrilege, potty humor and heightened pop culture. Religion, and particularly Mormonism, are recurring themes in their satire, mostly in an effort to see what happens when these buttoned-down, naïve personalities are thrust into unfamiliar situations. The storyline, which goes on to include an antagonist named General Butt-Fucking Naked who is hell-bent on circumcising all of the women in northern Uganda, Mafala’s daughter Nabulungi’s innocent, if awkward, romance with Cunningham, and a religious pageant of wildly inaccurate, sci-fi, frog-humping, is packed with a perfect blend of insane plotlines in a rather ordinary musical comedy framework. It’s a unique and irresistible package, with catchphrases and lyrics worthy of inclusion on the plentiful merchandise found in the PPAC lobby. If you hear someone proclaim, “I have maggots in my scrotum!”, then you have run into another Book of Mormon fan.

As Jacques Smith told MOTIF, Mormon still has the power to shock, even after its long run. Not in evidence in the more liberal Providence audience members, many cities do still have their walkouts, usually as soon as Jesus is parodied at the top of the show. Another cast member verified this to us after the show (“I won’t confirm that it’s in say, Kansas, but you get the picture. We feel that when we get that walkout, we’ve done our job.”) also pointing out that a production this ambitious and insane could only be fully realized with creators who can financially back it up. Some props, such as a dead donkey that gets dragged across the stage for five seconds, cost somewhere in the four-figure range, but it is this attention to detail that lends not only production value, but verisimilitude to Mormon. The sets are lush and inventive with detail and forced perspective that makes one wonder how hard it is to pack these pieces up and move them from town to town. For a story that ultimately comes down to a philosophical discussion of faith, guilt and repression, Mormon is one of the glitzier spectacles to be seen on any stage, just for its sheer scope. And for that guy in the football jersey who was obviously dragged there by his girlfriend, it’s hard not to believe that he was a convert by the end. Book of Mormon is the musical for non-musical fans, (upping the ante on Monty Python’s Holy Grail outing) and this touring version more than satisfies. Make it your mission to go.

PPAC presents The Book of Mormon through April 28. For tickets call the PPAC Box Office: (401) 421 – ARTS (2787), or visit https://www.ppacri.org/events/detail/the-book-of-mormon-2