Tomorrow is a Latter Day! The Book of Mormon at The Pantages Hollywood.
For Valentine’s Day, I felt like the luckiest girl ever. Not only do I have a great man in my life, but he got me the perfect gift for the occasion; Tickets to Broadway’s biggest hit in years, The Book of Mormon! Currently on tour with a stop til May in Hollywood at the gorgeous Pantages Theatre at Vine & Hollywood Blvd., the night to attend finally arrived on Tuesday & I hadn’t been so excited…probably since I saw Wicked last 😉
Dreamed up by the Kings of inappropriate & crude humor, South Park creators, Trey Parker & Matt Stone, The Book of Mormon tells the story of 19-year-old Latter Day Saints, Elder Price & Elder Cunningham who are paired together for their first missionary trip. Price dreams to get sent to Orlando, while Cunningham is simply dreaming to at last be with someone to make a best friend. As they await to hear what exotic location they will head off to teach the learning’s of Christ, other boys are going to France, Norway…while these young men get assigned to…Uganda!
WHERE?! WHY?!! Is Elder Price’s first thought. When they arrive, right out the gate they have their bags stolen & meet their village’s people, who explain just what life is like for them; AIDS, starvation, poverty & a murderous town Chief who is obsessed with female circumcision is what these folks must endure, which leads to one of the highlight numbers of the show, “Hasa Diga Eebowai”–see the show if you wonder what that means!! 😉
Soon, another favorite song of mine comes about; the amazing, through the roof tap dancing ditty, Turn it Off, where the fellow Elders Price & Cunningham meet their room mates & learn just how to deal with anything disturbing happening in their lives.
As the show progresses, more obscene references & explicit yet hysterical jokes emerge. While the whole cast is outstanding, our 3 main stars have such vibrant stage presence; David Larsen as Price nails his character spot on; making layers as he goes on & learning just what it means to be a good friend to the equally fabulous Cunningham, portrayed by Cody Jamison Strand who is fabulous to watch go from the Star Wars nerd trying to fit in to the Mormon in the spotlight as he “Man’s up” & becomes a leader to the village folks, including his love interest, Nablungi, played beautifully by Denee Benton.
Benton takes hilarious ballads, such as Salt Lake City, which are meant to be tongue in cheek, yet you somehow forget that since she’s singing them whole heartedly & with a gorgeous soprano/alto. Her ‘texting gadget’ is not to be missed, either!
Telling you more, would be giving away the plot & hilarity to be had at Book of Mormon. Given who the creators of this musical are, please keep in mind the humor may not be for everyone, & it certainly is an adult play, so perfect for a date night. It is on tour the rest of the year & in Hollywood through May 11th. Click here for more information & as Elder Cunningham’s Mom says, remember that tomorrow is a Latter day! xo
Susan Cooper
March 14, 2014 at 11:48 amEveryone in the Los Angeles area is talking about “The Book of Mormon.” After your great review, now I really want to see it!
AlongComesMary
March 14, 2014 at 11:54 amIts a really fun show! I should have also noted though, that in true Matt & Trey form, the show also has a lot of heart & shows both sides of the coin; I had thought originally it was a play making fun of LDS, but not really. They’re so clever with all their jokes yet I have never been truly offended by their message.