Book Of Mormon Musical Popularity May Not Be All Bad For LDS Church

The controversial Book Of Mormon musical grabbed fourteen Tony Nominations, that's just one short of the all-time record. The production from the creators of "South Park" has stirred up quite a bit of attention for the LDS church.
The musical is probably a long way from considering showings here at the Capitol Theatre, but it's still drawing a good amount of publicity locally. So when it got a near-record amount of Tony Nominations KSL decided to get reaction from a Mormon who does Musicals. "I've been involved in musical theatre since I was in third grade," said Steven Fehr.
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Fehr is currently acting with the Pioneer Theatre Company playing a couple of roles in Sunset Boulevard.
"The powerful thing about musicals is often the music is used to express something that dialogue can't," said Fehr.
So when he heard that The Book of Mormon Musical and "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker said the show was "just a built-in coming of age story," he had some concerns.
"I know Matt Stone and Trey Parker's brand of humor," said Fehr. "And I was afraid it would do something to be offensive."
But now that this coming of age story has 14 Tony nominations and several positive reviews Fehr says the added attention the church is getting may not be all bad.
"It might actually get people more interested in the church," Fehr said. "A lot of people have actually said that it's a sweet story, with some profanity in it."
Still, the show's creators admit in their own way the LDS reception won't be all good.
"I am sure the Mormons will embrace this," joked Parker. "absolutely, 100 percent they're going to give us things, they're going to give us letters of love it's gonna be awesome."
But this Fehr says he's not quite ready to write it off.
"I don't think you can judge a show without actually seeing it." The L-D-S church has been very quiet about the musical. The Tonys will be handed out in June. "The Producers" holds the current record for the most awards in one night taking home 12.
For the truth about teachings of the Mormon church, actual name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints go to:
www.mormon.org
www.lds.org
:)

[@Troul478]

Isn't it a good sign in itself that so many people are interested in a musical with the title "The Book of Mormon"? Also, on the internet we LDS are continually confronted with people who consider us as the incarnation of the absolute evil. Therefore we tend to forget that by far most people do not have such an extreme mindset.

[@hanohanonacowboy]

Well, I saw the show in New York in March when it was still in previews and thought it was sweet. It sure doesn't pull any punches in criticizing the LDS faith, but also shows individual characters in a very sympathetic light. As someone who knows how kind individual Mormons can be, I think this came through well. As one of the many Americans whose family has been directly harmed by the LDS Church and its meddling in politics, I think the serious mocking the show delivers is well-deserved.

[@klausweasley]

I just listened to the score. Based on that, the musical is DEFINITELY pro-Mormon even though they make fun of them and religion in general and it's quite vulgar and blasphemous. But if you can get past that and you have a sense of humor about yourself (and you're a fan of musicals), anyone can love it, regardless of religious belief.