[“HELLO!” from The Book of Mormon Original Broadway Cast Album plays]
When you go to the theatre, you expect to see singing, dancing, a big orchestra, elaborate sets, costumes, lights. But Mormons? That’s usually not typical Broadway fare.But for the past nearly 15 years, the smash hit musical The Book of Mormon has been spreading its gospel across the country and beyond, including Chicago where it makes a stop on its national tour.
SHAFIQ HICKS: Two Mormons are about to go on their missions and their mission takes them to Uganda and hilarity ensues, comedy ensues
That’s Shafiq Hicks, who plays the role of The General, the story’s comic antagonist and warlord in the Ugandan village where the story is set.
HICKS: But ultimately it’s a story about friendship and community building and acknowledging your differences, but also, coming together on things you are similar on.
Book of Mormon opened on Broadway in 2011 and creators Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez turned heads for making this raunchy, crass, hilarious satire and tribute to religion. But many wondered, why did the three choose to focus on Mormons of all religious groups? The answer is deeper than you might think.
JAKE JOHNSON: for me, there was a much bigger backstory that goes well into the 19th century and what the book tries to tease out is that surprising for many is that Mormonism and American Musical Theater were really born out of the same moment and in the same area and for similar purposes.
That’s Jake Johnson, Assistant Professor of Musicology at Oklahoma City University and author of the 2019 book Mormons, Musical Theater, and Belonging in America
JOHNSON: This idea of, of pretending to sound like somebody you’re not is so central to acting of course and musicals where singing and having a voice of somebody else’s is, is just part of the gig. But that’s also a theological concept in Mormonism.
According to Johnson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints went on to adopt the stylings and methods in American Musical Theatre as a way of defining their faith and growing their network of believers. And in the 2010s, Mormonism seemed poised to return the favor to musical theatre.
JOHNSON: It was when Mitt Romney was running for president. It was a very visible moment for Mormonism. It’s what scholars dubbed the Mormon moment and here comes this musical on the heels of that.
And since then, The Book of Mormon has been capitalizing on this quote unquote “Mormon Moment” for nearly 15 years, becoming the 11th Longest Running Broadway show of all time with over 5000 performances.
Present for roughly 2000 of those performances was Northwestern Alum Ben Estus, who was in the ensemble of the show from 2014 to 2020.
BEN ESTUS: It was really fun to do and like I loved doing the show every night. And, and it’s a show too that’s like you’re forced to smile for two and a half hours, so you leave feeling really happyI don’t know that I could have done Les Mis for six years.
And while cast members come and go, the show has largely stayed the same. But in the wake of the murder George Floyd, The Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, and growing conversations surrounding the portrayal of race, specifically of African or African Americans, the script underwent rewrites.
In an attempt to give more fleshed out characterization and agency of the Ugandan villagers as well as steering the narrative away from white savior territory and into a more general and inclusive message of coming together to build a better future.
Here’s Hicks again, one of the people who gets to perform this revised version of the show 8 times a week.
HICKS: it’s a great thing to witness when something that has endured the test of time decides, hey, like we want to continue to be relevant to the world at large, and how can we do that? How can we take these jokes and make them jokes but not offensive? How can we take the story and, you know, again, like make it relevant to the times that we are living in now? So for that, that for me is extremely gratifying as an artist to know that art can evolve and art can change.
In this day and age, where shows are lucky enough to make it to one year in an industry as cutthroat as commercial theatre, 15 is nothing to scoff at. So the question arises, why has Book of Mormon stuck with audiences for as long as it has? Here’s Ben Estus again.
ESTUS: It simultaneously fits the mold of the Broadway show and breaks it at the same time. And I think that that’s exciting for people to see. And from the beginning it was so shocking. You know, the things that were being done on stage and said on stage hadn’t really been done to that point. So then people leaving the theater, the word of mouth was like wildfire.
For Johnson, Book of Mormon reflects a portrayal of faith that hasn’t been seen much anywhere in popular culture both before and after it’s arrival on Broadway.
JOHNSON: what’s really interesting about the musical is that it does take a lot of shots at Mormons and they become the butt of the joke. But in the end, I think the musical does reflect on the value of belief in religion, and it does take a strong stance in support of faith. And so whether you’re a Mormon or not, there’s a way of seeing redemption and of seeing a real common value in at least wishing for something, believing in something at the end that’s upheld. And to me that’s really refreshing actually.
As so that poses another question, what is next for Book of Mormon? Hicks has his prediction.
[“TWO BY TWO” from The Book of Mormon Original Broadway Cast Album plays]
HICKS: I think it will be around for another 15 years, another four years with this tour at least, which for me as a person who is putting their stamp on the show is extremely exciting.
The Book of Mormon runs October 14-19th at the CIBC Theatre.
For WNUR News, I’m Sophia Casa
