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Read more with google mobile : Book of Mormon fresh, funny and sweet |

Edition: U.S. Article Comments (0) Follow Reuters "Book of Mormon" fresh, funny and sweet Tweet Share this By David Rooney NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Anyone who saw "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" shouldn't be surprised to learn that Trey Parker and Matt Stone appear genuinely to love musicals even as they subvert them. What's perhaps less... Email Print Related News "South Park" creators hit Broadway with Mormon musical Tue, Mar 22 2011 Special report: Can Japan find "New Deal" after triple whammy? Mon, Mar 14 2011 Analysis: One more oil spike may push Obama to tap SPR Mon, Mar 14 2011 House panel delves into Muslims radicalization Thu, Mar 10 2011 Twitter's Stone: no IPO or funding talks Thu, Mar 3 2011 Analysis & Opinion Americans live in Russia, but think they live in Sweden What I do when I start out and I don’t know anything Related Topics Entertainment » Fashion » Arts » By David Rooney Thu Mar 24, 2011 8:48pm EDT NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Anyone who saw "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut" shouldn't be surprised to learn that Trey Parker and Matt Stone appear genuinely to love musicals even as they subvert them. What's perhaps less expected is that while "The Book of Mormon" packs plenty of blissful profanity, sacrilege and politically incorrect mischief, the defining quality of this hugely entertaining show is its sweetness. Teaming with Robert Lopez, who co-wrote the music and lyrics for "Avenue Q," Parker and Stone have created one of the freshest original musicals in recent memory. It has tuneful songs, clever lyrics, winning characters, explosive laughs and disarmingly intimate moments. Religious zealots are not going to roll up, but the show manages to have a comic field day with Mormonism while simultaneously acknowledging -- maybe even respecting -- the right of everyone to follow any faith they choose. Or invent. Co-directed by Parker and Casey Nicholaw, who also did the sublimely kitschy choreography, the show's delightful contradictions extend to its craftsmanship. It manages to mock and celebrate musical-theater conventions in staging that is both tongue-in-cheek cheesy and polished, and storytelling that is blunt yet sly as a fox. In terms of construction and song placement, Mormon masters a classic formula. Starting with a chipper opening number that instantly secures audience affection for its two lead characters, the show checks off every required song function of a good musical. There are efficient nuggets of sung exposition; yearning "I want" declarations; comedy numbers that provide plot momentum; songs in which characters share their dreams, seize a challenge or face a conflict; celebratory anthems; and of course an emotionally emphatic 11 o'clock number. The song everybody will be talking about is "Hasa Diga Eebowai," a wicked spin on The Lion King's "Hakuna Matata," in which Ugandan villagers invoke a favorite catchphrase to dispel the woes of poverty, AIDS, guerrilla warfare and enforced female circumcision. Translation would spoil the joke, but let's just say it ain't "No worries for the rest of your days." Fresh out of training, preppy golden boy Elder Price (Andrew Rannells) and schlubby class doofus Elder Cunningham (Josh Gad) are sent to Uganda on their first missionary assignment. For Elder Cunningham, it's a chance to have a friend who can't dump him; for Elder Price, it's the start of a crisis of faith when his dreams of being sent to Orlando are crushed. Price's meltdown puts Cunningham in charge of securing baptism candidates where the other on-site Mormons have failed. But Cunningham hasn't even read the Book of Mormon. "It's so boring," he confesses. Indulging his propensity to tell lies, he draws on "The Matrix," "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "Lord of the Rings" and his uber-geek imagination to instruct the villagers. The result is a lurid revisionist pageant that reinterprets Mormon history in the style of an African folktale. That bastardized version, titled "Joseph Smith American Moses," is among the most riotous musical interludes. It departs radically from the official account, "All American Prophet," performed like an Osmond family TV special outtake. Number after number hits a bulls-eye. "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream" is a satanic nightmare featuring cameos by Hitler, Genghis Khan, Jeffrey Dahmer and Johnnie Cochran. "I Am Africa," sung by squeaky-clean Wonder-Bread Mormons (including Elder Cunningham channeling Bono), is a killer riff on patronizing "We Are the World"-style humanitarianism. "Baptize Me" gleefully sexualizes the religious rite. Led by Elder McKinley (Rory O'Malley), who is determined to quash those pesky homosexual urges, "Turn It Off" is a peppy call to suppress disturbing true feelings -- replete with full-blown tap routine. And in "Sal Tlay Ka Siti," the gorgeous-voiced Nikki M. James (as Cunningham's Ugandan quasi-love interest) contemplates paradise in Utah as a soaring daydream right out of "The Little Mermaid." The entire cast is terrific, and Gad and Rannells make a dynamite pair, exchanging leader and follower roles with equal conviction. Gad (a correspondent on "The Daily Show" With Jon Stewart) may be giving the single funniest, most endearing performance on Broadway. But Rannells is not far behind, his character's righteousness at war with his inflated ego. The designers merit loud applause. Framed by an enhanced proscenium that conjures the Mormon Tabernacle, Scott Pask's sets make droll use of old-fashioned backcloths and painted flats, particularly in the hilariously vivid Ugandan village. Ann Roth's costumes are full of witty touches. And Brian MacDevitt's lighting is equally descriptive in hellfire and celestial modes. In choosing Lopez and Nicholaw as key collaborators, Broadway neophytes Parker and Stone have shown enormous savvy. The result is a show that's slick where it needs to be, while retaining the rough-and-ready quality that put the "South Park" duo on the pop-cultural map. What makes the musical irresistible, however, is its panache in making naughty mockery of a whole string of untouchable subjects, without an ounce of spite. Entertainment Fashion Arts Tweet this Share this Link this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

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