I am a huge fan of South Park, when I heard a play written by its creators was coming to Los Angeles, I could not resist. The following paper is based on personal opinion, with some analysis in an attempt to back up my opinion. I will be providing a response, based on my reaction, to the play The Book of Mormon. I will be analyzing the play, based on the knowledge I gained this semester. In this Paper, I will be providing a personal opinion, a response, a description of the play and its main characters, some analysis, and it will conclude with a personal opinion.
The Book of Mormon is a hilarious play. Written by the creators of South Park, there are no limits. The play follows two Mormon Elders, who are supposed to be boys but are played by grown men, on their adventure to becoming Missionaries. Elder Kevin Price believes in the good old fashion way of converting sinners into true believers by knocking on some doors. He prays to his beloved God, in the hopes he will ultimately be privileged enough to do his two-year mission “stint” in the Sunshine State. However, his God had other plans. Elder Price is paired with Elder Cunningham, a bumbling idiot. The two are not sent to Florida, but instead are shipped to war-torn Uganda. Elder Price remains optimistic about this adventure bestowed upon him by his God, and believes he will actually do some good for humanity on this mission.
This is where the Major Dramatic Question (MDQ) is established, roughly at the twenty-five percent benchmark. The MDQ may be: Will Elder Price learn that God does not listen to unrealistic prayers and God may not actually exist? It may also be: Can Elder Price become a leader, by helping establish a code of ethics and morals with his new-brother Elder Cunningham for next two years, while in a foreign place? The protagonist has obviously been established at this point of the play, as none other than Elder Price.
There is a semi-Greek chorus present, comprised of fellow Elders and the villagers of Uganda. They do not necessarily wear masks, but they sing as one, give insight for the aggregate through one voice, and they usually danced and move in harmony. The songs were the typical South Park-style songs, i.e. making fun of others. Nothing impressive or insightful is provided through the musical portion of the play. But it creates an air of musical comedy to a truly warped interpretation of religion as a whole, and the trivial “problems” most of us face in developed countries.
The Antagonist is identified as General Butt-Fucking Naked. He looks like a real war-lord from Uganda. He has dark skin, he wears a military green vest, his jewelry is fifty-caliber rounds wrapping around his shoulder, and he may or may not have had a cigar at one point. He is a gruff character, and his role of the antagonist is established when he enters the play and his first act onstage is to rob Elder Price. This does not deter Elder Price, and he continues with his mission. With his new-found empathy after meeting the General, Elder Price is able to commensurate with the villagers and provides a solution to all their problems. He preaches the word of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion, through song. The General enters again and orders a heinous act. One villager is immediately killed by the General in protest. Unlike ancient Greek plays, the murder took place on stage in front of the audience. It is a sobering experience for Elder Price, and he decides he no longer is the answer to these people’s prayers. He ditches his brother Elder Cunningham, and requests to be transferred to Orlando.
Elder Price, only thinking of himself, has no idea that his words resonated with one villager. A villager by the name Nabulungi, she is established as the deciding agent. She intercepts Elder Cunningham and requests to learn more about Joseph Smith and Mormonism. Elder Cunningham, being the idiot, explains Mormonism without clarity to the villagers and Nabulungi. Around this moment, Elder Price comes to the realization that he is really needed in Africa and reprises his role as the Protagonist. Unbeknownst to Elder Price, Elder Cunningham has begun the process of converting sinners based on lies concocted out of his own lack of knowledge regarding Mormonism.
Elder Price returns, and is caught up on the Ugandan affairs, and determines he cannot succeed with his mission unless he converts the General. He sets out to convert the General, fails, and is imprisoned. Meanwhile Elder Cunningham is spinning more lies about Mormonism, like fornicating with a frog to cure AIDS, and it literally viewed as being the answer to all their problems. The Mission President decides to pay a visit to Uganda to check on his Missionaries-to-be. When he arrives, he is appalled by the lies the villagers believe to be the words of Joseph Smith. He demands all the Elders to go home, and disowns the villagers. Nabulungi is distraught by the disownment from the Mormon church.
Elder Price reflects about his situation. He comes to the conclusion that the lies these villagers have been believing are, in actuality, similar to the lies he has been believing his entire life. He decides that it is not necessarily the religion that is important, it is the message that gets across. He sees the villagers and how they have come from the gloomiest of environments on earth and how they change into gracious, happy, and caring people.
He then sees Nabulungi beginning to submit herself to General Butt-Fucking Naked. This is where Nabulungi is solidified as the deciding agent. Elder Price is moved by Nabulungi’s spiritual and emotional reaction to both converting her faith to “Mormonism” as well as being beaten down by the General. This inspires Elder Price to rally the Ugandan villagers, along with his fellow Elders, including Elder Cunningham, against the General. This is the Climax, where the MDQ is answered. If anything, the climax may answer both MDQ questions, proposed above. Elder Price realizes that if there is such a thing as an omnipresent God, he does not answer preposterous prayers. This is also the moment Elder Price fulfills the second MDQ, through his actions. He has become a leader by rallying the villagers, he has improved his brother Elder Cunningham by listening to his message, and he solidified his role as leader while knocking on some Ugandan doors. The play ends with the Ugandan villagers in a new future utopia, knocking on doors, and preaching the words of Elder Arnold Cunningham through the Book of Arnold.
Overall, the play was okay. The music was not memorable, it was funny in context, but it did not stick with me. The acting onstage was great, costumes and accents were spot-on. The underlying message written by Matt Stone and Trey Parker was great. If I were to guess the message it might be: Sometimes religion, faith, or imagery is not the answer to our problems and it is the message that we need to listen to. At the end of a long day, The Book of Mormon offered a great night out and was relatively inexpensive for the venue.