Perhaps this isn’t so surprising? But The New York Times seems rather already in love with this, well, not-so-traditional musical interpretation of the sacred texts of Mormonism by the creators of ‘South Park,’ Trey Stone and Matt Parker. Just this weekend, the Arts section featured this front-pager, “A Sweet Show, With Blasphemy and Cussing” about the upcoming Broadway debut in March, and wondering the following:
“How audiences interpret this song and others like it when “The Book of Mormon” opens at the Eugene O’Neill Theater on March 24 — barging boldly onto Broadway without an out-of-town or Off Broadway tryout — will determine whether the musical is received as an unapologetically rude yet unexpectedly sentimental hit, or a polarizing, provocative work of possible blasphemy.”
A lot of folks are betting on the “unexpectedly sentimental” bit (including myself), as opposed to the “provocative work of possible blasphemy.” The article is massive and engaging and for anyone curious about the upcoming production, a must-read. The NYTimes has featured articles just about daily over the last week about the musical, and also put out this Q&A with the creators, “Holy Terrors: A Conversation With the Creators of ‘The Book of Mormon'” which is a fun read as well. So far, all this press only makes me want to see it more.