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nineveh_ukThe best efforts of a winter lurgy and Storm Ciara notwithstanding I had a very nice if rather short weekend with antisoppist last week, particularly seeing The Book of Mormon on its UK tour.* It is completely bonkers, very funny, extremely rude, and swoops up and down like a diving penguin in and out of sheer offensiveness**. I don't think that I've laughed as much in the theatre since the French lesson scene in The History Boys. Personally I took the ending as representing a slightly more cynical take on religion than many people seem to, based upon the final line***. But then the ability of something to bear multiple readings is generally a sign that there is something to it, so that's all to the good.
Most importantly it has some really catchy tunes. I have been singing random bits of it a lot.
Like a number of more recent musicals, it is poor in terms of roles for women. Say what you like about the phenomenon of the Mezzo Friend, it meant that there were at least two prominent female characters. Book of Mormon manages two named female roles out of 13, one of whose sole purpose is to turn up briefly at the airport for a Lion King spoof. Rodgers and Hammerstein would have known to give Nabulungi a confidant in the form of a friend, younger sister, teacher, village nurse, grandmother, anyone.
Now to see if there's a bootleg on the internet.
*Theatres.
**Depending on your point of view. I actually found it much less uncomfortable a watch than The King and I, though I suspect that in 50 years it will probably have aged a lot, and of course I'm not the target of most of the humour.
*** TL:DR The importance of the final line being "I still have maggots in my scrotum, emphasis mine.
antisoppist last week, particularly seeing The Book of Mormon on its UK tour.* It is completely bonkers, very funny, extremely rude, and swoops up and down like a diving penguin in and out of sheer offensiveness**. I don't think that I've laughed as much in the theatre since the French lesson scene in The History Boys. Personally I took the ending as representing a slightly more cynical take on religion than many people seem to, based upon the final line***. But then the ability of something to bear multiple readings is generally a sign that there is something to it, so that's all to the good.Most importantly it has some really catchy tunes. I have been singing random bits of it a lot.
Like a number of more recent musicals, it is poor in terms of roles for women. Say what you like about the phenomenon of the Mezzo Friend, it meant that there were at least two prominent female characters. Book of Mormon manages two named female roles out of 13, one of whose sole purpose is to turn up briefly at the airport for a Lion King spoof. Rodgers and Hammerstein would have known to give Nabulungi a confidant in the form of a friend, younger sister, teacher, village nurse, grandmother, anyone.
Now to see if there's a bootleg on the internet.
*Theatres.
**Depending on your point of view. I actually found it much less uncomfortable a watch than The King and I, though I suspect that in 50 years it will probably have aged a lot, and of course I'm not the target of most of the humour.
*** TL:DR The importance of the final line being "I still have maggots in my scrotum, emphasis mine.