"The Book Of Mormon" -- Why Aren't More People Offended?

THE BOOK OF MORMON *** 1/2 out of ****
EUGENE O'NEILL THEATRE

So what's the truth about the Tony-winning Broadway musical The Book Of Mormon? Is it:

A) a merciless mocking of religion by the creators of South Park
B) a show with real characters that people of faith (even Mormons) can embrace
C) a broad satire a la Jerry Springer: The Opera filled with cursing and expletives
D) a valentine to the Church Of Jesus Christ (of Latter-day Saints) and their polite practitioners
E) very funny and entertaining
F) all of the above

Of course the answer is F, all of the above. Trey Parker and Matt Stone (along with their collaborator on the book, lyrics and music -- Robert Lopez of Avenue Q) have delivered a show that does indeed mercilessly mock religion, even while conceding that people's beliefs can make them do some nice things (like help the poor) though also do some mean things (like launch Crusades). Here's how they did it.

First, they were never out to "get" the Mormons; in fact, they were always intrigued that faith (which they paint as little different than the mythology surrounding Star Wars or The Lord Of The Rings) could encourage the Mormons they knew to be so unfailingly...nice.

What Parker and Stone were really out to "get" was Broadway. They wanted to create a great musical, which is no surprise to anyone who has watched their TV show and movies for the past decade or so. Parker and Stone squeeze in show stoppers and musical numbers at the drop of a hat in their TV series and the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut ranks as one of the best movie musicals of the 1990s. So they created a musical that has hilarious jabs but also features genuine characters with real emotions. A spoof of faith might have been funny but it wouldn't have any emotional punch; you wouldn't really care what happened to some Mormon missionaries in Uganda if the show didn't care either.

SPOILER ALERT: If you're planning to see the show and don't want to know anything about it, don't read on. But if you've seen it or even just listened to the cast album, you probably know 90% of the plot already. Use your best judgment so I don't spoil any fun for you. I'll give you another warning when I reference a twist from the finale.

Still, it wasn't until I started thinking about the way the show tells its story that I realized how The Book Of Mormon pulled off the feat of keeping both atheists and people of faith in the same room, smiling and laughing. In short, they did it by putting the most scandalous language in the mouths of unbelievers who need to be saved. Plus, they let a plucky Mormon hero proudly assert some of the more eye-browing raising minutia of that religion with a Julie Andrews-like confidence! If this show were a spoof, it wouldn't be the success that it is. But it's not a spoof. These are real characters with real beliefs. And that's why The Book Of Mormon is really good.

Imagine how a Mormon feels. If you've seen The Book Of Mormon, you've already heard some of the most exaggerated or arcane elements of their faith -- in other words, you've been pre-scandalized. Instead of Elders having to bring up the underwear and the one-time ban on black priests (into the 1970s!) and the idea of God living out there in the universe near a planet called Kolob and Jews coming to America before Columbus, LDSers can just let you ask if that's true and then give the more nuanced, accurate description of what they believe. No wonder the Church has put posters up in Times Square. This show might just help recruitment. Let's get specific.

"Hasa Diga Eebowai" is the first truly vulgar show in the show. It's a satire on "Hakuna Matata" from The Lion King. The title translates as "F*** you, God!" and is sung by Ugandans who lament war lords, endemic poverty, a crippling rate of AIDS and other miseries that make Job's life seem like a walk in the park. Our heros Elder Price (the marvelous, should-have-won-the-Tony Andrew Rannells) and Elder Cunningham (the funny sidekick Josh Gads) are shocked of course. But railing against the Almighty isn't unheard of, even in the Bible (see Job, for example, not to mention the argumentative Moses). And who can argue with the truth that someone born in a war-torn land ravaged by a plague might in fact be a little bitter?

Finally, this song is sung by Ugandans who in religious terms haven't been saved yet. In fact, it is Africans throughout who speak the most vulgar, shocking lines. With South Park's usual daring, they walk a fine line between a satire of our culture's attitude towards Africans and just a plain old stereotype. But for someone of faith, these people are cursing and raping babies and railing against God precisely because they need the succor and support of the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

But what about "Turn It Off?" In this show-stopper for Tony-nominated supporting actor Rory O'Malley), Elder McKinley), some missionaries share their approach to confusing thoughts or bad feelings. When your dad beats your mom and mocks you for crying, when you decide to get in line at the Apple store instead of seeing your dying sister, when you have gay thoughts for your best friend, "Turn it off!" Non-believers hear hypocrisy and an absurdly simplistic solution to difficult issues: "Turn it off/ Like a light switch/ Just go flick/ It's our nifty little Mormon trick."

But people of faith (not just Mormons) have no problem with self-denial. It's not hypocrisy to stop thinking bad or tempting or confusing thoughts -- it's a darn good idea. And you're less likely to have those bad thoughts if you avoid pornography or even just secular TV shows that are sexed up (like Gossip Girl) and so on. So turn them off, too! It's not an official approach by any faith, but numerous fundamentalist faiths acknowledge that some men are gay and want them to simply tamp down those bad feelings and marry a woman anyway, because with prayer and the proper spouse and God's love you can be alright. (Not true, by the way.) It's presented in a silly, flippant manner, but "turn it off" is exactly what people of numerous faiths try to do every day.

Then there's "Making Things Up Again." This is a song where Elder Cunningham -- in a desperate appeal to keep the Ugandans from getting bored and to steer them away from a threat to rape babies, which some think will cure them of AIDS -- starts to toss ewoks and hobbits and the plot of The Matrix into the teachings of the Church. In its effectiveness and adaptation by the locals (who in fact ultimately consider the teachings of Elder Cunningham to constitute the fourth book of the Bible, after the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Book Of Mormon), this song makes crystal clear that it's just made-up nonsense, much as some people believe the Book Of Mormon and indeed all organized religion to be made up nonsense. If anything should anger people of faith, it's probably here. But remember again who is singing and who is accepting this. Elder Cunningham has proven he knows almost nothing about his own faith, so it's hardly a rejection of the teachings of the Church when someone who has never learned them makes stuff up. Indeed, even people of every faith who do sincerely believe are often ill-informed about their own religion.

The story of the founding of the Church and its early days is utterly goofed upon in "Joseph Smith American Moses." But again, this song is performed by Ugandans who have been "instructed" in their faith by Elder Cunningham, who admits he knows almost nothing about it. On another level, missionary work by many faiths in the past often included putting religious beliefs into certain terms or stories which locals could identify with. The idea was that once very basic ideas had been put across, you could slowly instruct them more fully in the particulars of the faith. So though Elder Cunningham's mishmash of pop culture would never pass muster, the basic idea isn't so far-fetched. Neither was his desire to stop one man from raping a baby as a cure for AIDS. A good missionary would have been able to explain why God objected without making up passages from the Book of Mormon or somehow claiming Joseph Smith had sex with a magic frog to cure his case of AIDS. Perhaps they would have related a story of Moses and the plagues or some miracle cure to get the same idea across. But the intent and very broad approach isn't so nutty. It's just a lot funnier when put into vulgar terms and set to catchy music.

Finally, there's "I Believe," Elder Price's proud announcement of faith. In an homage to "I Have Confidence" from The Sound Of Music, Elder Price finds the courage to help out Elder Cunningham and win over a war lord to the Church, all while declaiming many of the most controversial, seemingly goofy (or as Church members would insist, often exaggerated) articles of their religion.

Surely this song will offend Mormons. As my friend at the show pointed out, their beliefs are virtually punch lines throughout the song. "I believe that ancient Jews built boats and sailed to America." "I believe that the current President of the Church, Thomas Monson, speaks directly to God." "I believe that in 1978 God changed his mind about black people." "I believe that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri." People laugh and laugh throughout this song. Don't Mormons find that embarrassing? Nope, in fact they probably find it liberating. As one online commenter said, it will probably be sung at a Mormon talent show before you know it. Yes, those are things they believe, albeit not voiced the way they would or with the accuracy they deserve. Hearing it belted out on stage in the hottest show on Broadway by a character who's had his doubts but resolved them and wants to help others is not exactly a difficult moment to accept.

Even the chorus sounds differently to people of faith and atheists. When atheists hear, "I am a Mormon. And a Mormon just believes," they giggle. They hear the idiocy of religion presented in as blunt a manner as possible. You just...believe? How stupid is that? Where are the facts? Doesn't that make people of faith look simple-minded and dumb? But people of faith (not just Mormons) hear that line and say, "Yep, that's faith, in a nutshell. Believing when there is no proof." The hero has doubts? So does anyone of faith who isn't feeble-minded.

About the harshest judgment this show makes about Mormons is that they're hyper-polite. If that's the stereotype they must live with, it ranks alongside the gay stereotypes of "witty, fashionable and in shape" or the Asian stereotype of "smart in science and math" as certainly annoying but not the worst thing in the world.

Still, I think anyone paying attention would know the show really doesn't pull its punches. One of the biggest laughs comes when a Ugandan says to one character that there's no such place as the fabled Salt Lake City -- "it's a metaphor!" That's fine for me as a practicing Catholic (we don't believe the Bible is literally true -- the Garden Of Eden and Noah's Ark? -- metaphors!). But it certainly won't cut muster with the fundamentalists in the crowd. Parker and Stone and Lopez clearly say that as long as you don't take this stuff too literally and use your faith to help others, it's no biggie by them. But [FINALE PLOT SPOILER] it's no accident that our heroes turn their backs on the Church at the end. The missionaries ignore orders so they can stay in Uganda and keep helping the locals in any way they can. You shouldn't have to choose between your religion and being nice to others here on earth. But if you do, it's pretty clear they think religion should lose every time. That's not the message they're shouting out from the rooftops. Everyone is welcome to the show and clearly people of faith (even fundamentalists) like a good show-stopper when they hear one. But the message is still there. Still faith overrides all obstacles. What makes The Book Of Mormon work for nonbelievers and believers alike is that its creators have the strongest faith of all: faith in the power of a well-crafted Broadway musical.

THE 2010-2001 THEATER SEASON FINALE (on a four star scale)

All's Well That Ends Well (the Globe in London) ****
Angels in America revival at Signature *** out of ****
Anything Goes ** 1/2
Arcadia with Billy Crudup *** 1/2
Baby It's You * 1/2
Being Harold Pinter ** 1/2
Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo **
Between Worlds/Entre Mundos * 1/2
Beautiful Burnout at St. Ann's Warehouse **
Blood From A Stone ** 1/2
The Book Of Mormon *** 1/2
Born Yesterday ***
The Broadway Musicals Of 1921 at Town Hall ***
Cactus Flower *
Carson McCullers Talks About Love with Suzanne Vega * 1/2
Catch Me If You Can *** 1/2
Devil Boys From Beyond **
The Diary Of A Madman with Geoffrey Rush at BAM ***
Die Walkure at the Met with Deborah Voigt ***
The Divine Sister *** 1/2
Double Falsehood **
The Dream Of The Burning Boy ** 1/2
Driving Miss Daisy **
Elf *
Elling **
A Free Man Of Color ** 1/2
Gatz ***
Ghetto Klown ***
Good People with Frances McDormand **
The Grand Manner **
The Great Game ***
Gruesome Playground Injuries ***
The Hallway Trilogy: Nursing **
The Hallway Trilogy: Paraffin ***
The Hallway Trilogy: Rose ***
The House Of Blue Leaves with Ben Stiller and Edie Falco * 1/2
How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying ***
The Illusion (Tony Kushner revival at Signature) *
The Importance Of Being Earnest ** 1/2
The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide To Capitalism and Socialism With A Key To The Scriptures ***
The Interminable Suicide Of Gregory Church *** 1/2
Jerusalem ***
John Gabriel Borkman * 1/2
King Lear with Derek Jacobi at BAM ***
La Bete ** 1/2
Les Miserables ***
Lombardi **
Lord Of The Flies (in London) * 1/2
Lysistrata Jones * 1/2
Macbeth with John Douglas Thompson **
The Merchant Of Venice *** 1/2
Middletown ***
Mike Birbiglia's My Girlfriend's Boyfriend ***
The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore *
Mistakes Were Made ** 1/2
The Motherf**ker With The Hat ***
Much Ado About Nothing (the Globe in London) ** 1/2
Nixon In China *** 1/2
The New York Idea **
The Nightingale and Other Short Fables at BAM ***
The Normal Heart ***
One Man, Two Guvnors (in London) ***
Operation Greenfield (in London) ** 1/2
Other Desert Cities **
Our Town with Helen Hunt ***
The Pee-wee Herman Show ***
Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert: The Musical * 1/2
Pygmalion (in London with Rupert Everett) **
The Road To Qatar *
Room ***
The People In The Picture *
The School For Lies with Mamie Gummer and Hamish Linklater at CSC ****
The Scottsboro Boys ****
Sister Act **
Sleep No More *** 1/2
Small Craft Warnings zero stars
Three Sisters (w Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard) *** 1/2
Timon Of Athens at Public with Richard Thomas ***
War Horse ***
We're Gonna Die ***
The Whipping Man **
Wings **
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown **
Wonderland *

AT THE NEW YORK MUSICAL FESTIVAL

Blood Ties ***
Fellowship * 1/2
Fingers and Toes ** 1/2
Frog Kiss *** 1/2
The Great Unknown ** 1/2
Nighttime Traffic **
Our Country *
PopArt *
Shine! The Horatio Alger Musical ** 1/2
Show Choir **
Tess: The New Musical **
Trav'lin' ***
Without You *** 1/2

*****
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It's available free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes. Link to him on Netflix and gain access to thousands of ratings and reviews.

 

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Comments

[hthalljr]

01:58 PM on 07/06/2011

(continuation)

Finally, the play is hardly a "love letter" to Mormons. Rather, it is anti-Mormon to the core. Parker's boasted "research" only damns him. He even has the audacity to put the lie, that Joseph Smith never showed the plates to anyone, in Joseph's mouth.

This 181-year-old lie is as egregious as the blood libel against Judaism, because it flies in the face of abundant evidence to the contrary.

The plates of the Book of Mormon constitute physical evidence for the origins of Mormonism and are attested by twelve reliable witnesses (Joseph Smith included). Three of them saw the angel Moroni, hefted the plates, and heard the voice of God declaring the translation to be by "his gift and power." Eight others turned their leaves and carefully examined the engravings. All the witnesses were faithful to their testimony to the end. Their testimony will stand in any court of human law, as it stands in the Supreme Court of the Universe.
http://bit.ly/iixumu http://bit.ly/mJsthy http://bit.ly/lFWKll

In his moment of glory at the Tony Awards, Parker "credited" Joseph as co-writer. If he had bothered to read the even first book of the actual Book of Mormon, he would have learned who really made his play so "popular in the eyes of the world."

If I were Trey Parker, I would "fear, and tremble, and quake." (1 Nephi 22:23) http://bit.ly/kL44Ya

Tracy Hall Jr
hthalljr'gmail'com

[hthalljr]

01:46 PM on 07/06/2011

Michael, I appreciate your sincere efforts to put yourselves in Mormon shoes as you review this play, but I don't think you quite succeed.

First of all, most devout Mormons, having read the reviews, would indeed "turn it off" and never bother to see it. We take our guidance from our Thirteenth Article of Faith, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." http://bit.ly/gWEPUm Why swim in the cesspool?

I'll even take a cue from an evangelical Christian scholar who, while disagreeing with our beliefs, treats Mormons with respect. John Mark Reynolds writes, "Some Americans will allow it to confirm unthinking prejudice, while cowardly Mormons will applaud it hoping for crumbs of respectability." http://wapo.st/k13L66

With many others, I find that Richard Bushman best echoes my feelings. http://bit.ly/ltfFv0

Bushman's response to his own crisis of faith as a young missionary is much more credible than that of "Elder Price." Instead of shrugging off difficult questions, we engage them with all our mind.

(continued)

[Erikalynnie]

01:38 PM on 06/30/2011

Leave it to the Huffington Post to reach back so many years to the Crusades to find something that religion 'makes' you do that's negative. Seriously? Not even ten yrs after 9/11 or 7/7 or any number of honor killings going on every day? God I've come to hate liberals.

[Michael Giltz]

02:37 PM on 06/30/2011

I'm a registered Republican and a practicing Catholic. Since I'm discussing a light Broadway musical comedy and not serious heavy matters, referencing something more recent like 9-11 or the child-molesting scandal of the Catholic Church seemed out of tune with the issue. I chose the Crusades because it's hardly a touchy issue for anyone today. Glad to know people will take offense and imagine a liberal basis no matter what you do. And apparently the only thing that would satisfy you is if I criticized Muslims. That's not conservative in my book.

[dkinton49]

02:49 PM on 06/29/2011

If this were about Muslims, they would be dead by now!

[Michael Giltz]

02:41 PM on 06/30/2011

Actually, in their TV series South Park, you can cite numerous examples of Parker and Stone mocking religious fanatics of all stripes, including Muslims and making hay of the absurd outcry over political cartoons depicting the Prophet. They can hardly be accused of pulling their punches when it comes to any of the major religions, including Islam, though their decision to do so certainly did heighten security concerns at Comedy Central. Violence is of course never to be expected so I won't compliment them for basic decency, but I do think the Church Of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints has been very smart in how they've reacted to the musical and used it as an opportunity to tell their story and share their faith, rather than shrilly attack the show and look incapable of taking a joke.

[Absolon]

01:16 PM on 06/29/2011

Yeah, both Rannells and O'Malley should have won. They sparkle real hard!!

[Derek White]

11:28 AM on 06/29/2011

This is the first detailed description I've read about the play and I have to say that, as a Mormon, it's definitely offensive. When something of true goodness is twisted to a point where the image looks like a "fun house mirror" (to quote Richard Bushman), it may be entertainment to those with no connection to the Church--but it's quite offensive to those who hold the Mormon Church dear to their hearts.

Whether atheist or a person of faith, we all hold some things sacred--and having those sacred things mocked will always hurt. For instance, most Americans "believe" in the United States. Even the most cynical were surprised at the depth of their feeling on 9/11 when terrorists attacked our country. And how did we feel when we saw the images of jihadists dancing for joy when the twin towers fell?

If you put yourself in Mormons' shoes and consider the early persecution of Mormons (driven from state to state, the Extermination Order in Missouri, the Haun's Mill Massacre in Missouri, the mob's murder of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum in Illinois, Johnston's Army being sent to the Utah Territory to quell the polygamy rebellion, the persecution and imprisonment of early polygamists, and the ongoing persecution by Mormon-haters and Evangelical Christians in general, etc.) you may be able to feel our pain.

Let's not kid ourselves, when we are mocked for the beliefs or practices we consider sacred--it hurts.

[Michael Giltz]

02:49 PM on 06/30/2011

HI Derek,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. However, I do think it's rather a stretch (and a callous one at that) to compare a Broadway musical comedy to 9-11 or the massacres of people for their religious beliefs. I think spokespeople for your faith have proven much more calibrated and reasonable in their comments about the show. With two people running for President, including the front-runner for the Republican nomination, this hardly feels like an era when Mormons should feel victimized. And you shouldn't feel singled out -- Parker and Stone have certainly mocked Catholics and other religions with regularity. I would reiterate that many people of faith have seen the show expecting to be offended and leaving surprised at characters they could identify with and applaud. Doesn't sound like it would be your cup of tea, however.

[Derek White]

10:10 PM on 07/02/2011

Actually, Michael, I was simply using the 9/11 analogy to point out that even the most calloused of cynics holds something sacred. And when those sacred beliefs are mocked, it hurts.

[Ben belmont]

02:07 AM on 06/29/2011

There are many Mormon movies that play in the western states. I saw one at a theater in Honolulu called states of grace. There are others like the singles ward and such which make fun for entertainment sake. They are mostly watched by Mormons. The Book of Mormon seems similar, but more extreme as it is coming from the southpark makers. Trey Parker has had many Mormon friends and dated a Mormon girl and talks quite positively regarding the LDS church. I think that if someone is offended then maybe they are taking the musical too seriously which it is meant to entertain. Las Vegas newspapers have talked about how the musical would be perfect for Vegas because Mormons settled it and there are lots of Mormons there and that Mormons and non-Mormons would go and see it. The Salt Lake Tribune has made similar statements. It was created by Parker and Stone because of their experiences growing up around Mormons and they have stated that most of these experiences have been positive.

[Michael Giltz]

03:27 PM on 06/29/2011

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'm sure Book of Mormon will tour the entire country before doing a sit-down in Vegas a la Avenue Q.

[BlackJAC]

03:55 PM on 06/29/2011

Hell, Battlestar Galactica is initially rooted in Mormon theology.

[Michael Giltz]

02:52 PM on 06/30/2011

I'd forgotten about that: Kobol/Kolob, the quorum of twelve, etc. One of my favorite sci-fi shows. I wonder if those modest references have made BG popular among Mormons.

[Charles Dayton]

09:08 PM on 06/28/2011

I believe the reason that those attend the play are not offended is that they have no shame. By what standard do you become offended if you don't believe in standards.

[sjones10]

06:55 PM on 06/28/2011

As a Mormon, I have no idea what Giltz is talking about when he says the whole "just believe" thing isn't bothersome to Mormons. Mormon scholar Richard Bushman thoughtfully responded to that phrase (among other parts of that song) in a recent CNN blog:

http://inthearena.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/27/richard-bushman-the-book-of-mormon-is-like-looking-into-a-fun-house-mirror-the-reflection-is-hilarious-but-not-really-you/

[Michael Giltz]

11:58 PM on 06/28/2011

I had actually read the interview. As a practicing Catholic, I wasn't speaking for Mormons or even Catholics. I was of course speaking for myself. But many people -- including Mormons -- have seen the show and enjoyed it and indeed not been offended. I disagree with his analysis of the lyrics. He says that the line "I am a Mormon and a Mormon just believes" means that Mormons think what they believe is absurd but insist on believing it anyway. Hardly. The lead character is shown as thoughtful and intelligent, with moments of doubt and uncertainty (like a little pride and too much emphasis on hoping for a "cool" mission assignment like Orlando Florida). But he never indicates any feeling that the basic tenets of the Mormon faith are ridiculous or a joke. His proud statements (which also include "I believe God has a plan for every one of us") are not presented as idiotic but as sincere and honest statements of faith. And for any person of faith, ultimately it does come down to "just believe." That's exactly what faith is. He hasn't seen the show and perhaps reading the lyrics out of context misled him. Watch the performance or better see the show and you won't think they're mocking Elder Price.

[Michael Giltz]

12:04 AM on 06/29/2011

Of course, other people may disagree with my take on that song and what faith constitutes. I have faith but I don't "just believe" and nothing else because for me, my faith involves constant questioning and analysis. Still, ultimately if you believe in a God it can ONLY come through just believing since there is no proof to be had. And of course, remember, it's a song lyric - describing the tenets of any faith in a Broadway musical number is going to involve a lot of shorthand, not careful and thoughtful subtlety. But Bushman is just one person. Did you see the show sjones10? Were you offended? If so, what offended you? I certainly believe many parts of the show could prove risible to many people of faith. But it would be odd to single out the line "a Mormon just believes" which could just as easily have been "a Baptist just believes" or "an Orthodox Jew" or "a Catholic" and be just as reasonable a description. And if you think overall the reaction of the show is anger and offense, I would take strong exception. It's been met by no protests or angry denunciations that I know about.