Alan Shenkerman
Dr. Nina Penner
MUSIC 190S: Adaptation and Musical Theatre
Satire in Musical Theatre and The Book of Mormon
One of the most powerful elements of art is its ability to make statements about societal issues, providing a unique perspective that allows its audience to see these subjects in a new light. Out of all the means art may employ to achieve this goal, satire is one of the most omnipresent, featured across virtually all mediums. Satire is noteworthy for its exaggerative approach to social commentary, often containing strong irony and sarcasm with the intent of ridiculing a certain aspect of our society. While satire is by design humorous, its comedy can sometimes have a razor-sharp edge, feeling biting or acerbic. It is interesting, then, to examine the role of satire in musical theatre, a medium which is characterized (at least in the mainstream) as being very upbeat and fun, almost always ending quite happily and hopefully. How can a genre that is so cynical and critical meld with the rose-tinted world of musicals? The Book of Mormon, a 2011 Broadway ultra-hit, best epitomizes the answer to this conundrum. The satire in The Book of Mormon is sharp, yet somehow loving, creating a musical that is teeming with heart and whose message is ultimately uplifting. In this paper, I will analyze the satire in The Book of Mormon in the context of satire on Broadway throughout the twentieth century, showing how the musical presents satirical ideas in a unique style, and is able to find success where other satire-centric musicals could not.
Satire in musical theater has had a fascinating, if ultimately disappointing, history. Librettists and composers explored satire very intensely in the early years of musical theatre, only to see it slowly fade out in favor of more mainstream, love-oriented integrated musicals in the style of Oscar Hammerstein III and Richard Rodgers.1 The first notable example of a musical centered on its satirical content is a work by George Kaufman and the Gershwins entitled Strike Up the Band (1927 and revived in 1930). The show critiques the war-loving attitude common at the time by presenting a story where America goes to war with Switzerland over the price of cheese. Unfortunately, Strike Up the Band received little success and failed to make it to Broadway in its 1927 run.2 On the other hand, a revised version of the show that ran in 1930 fared far better—although it cut nearly all of the edgy, controversial satire of the original production. The failure of the original 1927 production as well as poor reception of an edgy Kaufman-Gershwin collaboration called Let Them Eat Cake may have led Kaufman to proclaim his now famous line: “Satire is what closes on a Saturday.”
Kaufman’s lamentation may need amendment. For instance, the 1931 Kaufman/Gershwin musical Of Thee I Sing is often cited as an example of a successful satirical musical (even winning the Pulitzer Prize), following a presidential candidate who centers his campaign on a platform of “love.” According to theater scholar Alisa Roost, the key difference between Of Thee I Sing and other collaborations between this trio is its lighter, gentler tone, containing slapstick humor in the vein of the Marx Brothers.4 Especially in the bleak setting of the 1930s, theatregoers seemed to enjoy a more fantastical approach to satire, and were turned off by more biting commentary as in Let Them Eat Cake that exposed them to uncomfortable truths about the world. It seems that in the early 20th century, satire could be successful on Broadway, but only with a dulled edge.
Moreover, it seems that as the 20th century progressed, satire-centric musical theatre was unfortunately fared poorly on Broadway, mainly thriving in avant-garde and small-scale productions, or in a very subdued, light form. Roost notes how in the 40s through the 60s, musicals largely followed a formula carved out by Rodgers and Hammerstein that largely substitutes satire with “political commentary through sentimental appeals.”5 Romance became the centerfold of the American musical, and in turn the device in which to include hints of commentary. South Pacific is the epitome of this, criticizing racial prejudice by following an interracial relationship between the romantic leads. Yet South Pacific is not true satire, as in the show individuals needed to change to find happiness, whereas in satirical musicals (and satire in general) it is society that requires change. On the other hand, one can find examples of genuine satire in the avant-garde theatre at the time. A primary example is Frank Zappa, a rock musician not very well known for his association with musical theatre. Zappa created rock operas like Joe’s Garage (1979) and Thing-Fish (1984) that went largely unperformed.6 In these, Zappa eschews and condemns traditional love narratives and delves into the taboo, satirizing American perceptions of sexuality, the AIDS epidemic, and authoritative governments.7 However, the shows, which were originally released as concept albums, were seen as far too puerile and obscene for mainstream appeal.
Tides seem to shift slightly for the satirical musical as the 21st century creeped in. After a relatively lukewarm run in 1975 through 1977, the satirical show Chicago was revived in 1996 to phenomenal success. Chicago follows Roxie Hart, who abuses American sensationalism and love for scandal to not only get away with murder, but also to create celebrity and launch herself into vaudeville. The revival was extremely topical, as America had just incredulously watched prominent football player O.J. Simpson be acquitted for a double murder—this perfect timing was likely a key factor in the show's success. Another vastly successful show was The Producers (2001), a comedy that satirized Broadway production and the corruption in show business. Although the show was successful, it is perhaps not quite fair to cite The Producers as a shining example of satire in musical theater. The show does not really call for change or impart much of a message, instead focusing on hilarious comedy and songs.
In context of the relatively bleak history of satire-centric musicals, a satirical work saturated with vulgarity and blasphemy as well as lacking a love narrative would seem unlikely to find success on Broadway. History was quickly proven wrong, however, as the production of The Book of Mormon racked up nine Tony awards and unimaginable success. The show began production directly on Broadway, premiering in the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in 2011. It was co-written, composed, and produced by the trio of Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and Robert Lopez. Lopez is the only member of the three that had prior experience in musical theater—he was the creator of a racy 2003 hit featuring puppets called Avenue Q, and likely brought to the table virtuosic composing skills as well as a knowledge of the field. The true creative minds behind most of the musical’s satire, though, are Parker and Stone, best known for their immensely popular animated TV show called South Park. The pair had honed their satirical skills for over a decade, known for writing extremely irreverent and obscene yet deeply poignant comedy that crossed every line of controversy imaginable. Thus, it is unsurprising to learn that The Book of Mormon does not shy away from obscenity and the taboo—the musical embraces controversial topics and juxtaposes them with truly heartwarming characters, and themes.
The Book of Mormon follows two young Mormon missionaries “Elder” (a Mormon term for missionary status) Price and Elder Cunningham assigned to an impoverished town in Uganda. There, they face blasphemous villagers, AIDS, brutal warlords and violent traditions. Much of the comedy is derived from the utter contrast between the amicable Mormons and the utterly inhospitable environment they find themselves in. An important factor that helps set the tone of the show is its musical style. Mormon chooses not to be groundbreaking and ambitious in its songs, instead relying on established musical theater song tropes. Examples include “You and Me (But Mostly Me)” which draws on canonical “I want” show tunes, and “Hello” which feels like a classic Broadway group number. The music makes one feel as if they were watching old school Broadway classics, making Mormon ooze heart and sweetness—which in turn makes the lyrics that much funnier.
The most powerful aspect in The Book of Mormon is its cutting satire of religion, society and politics, and even musical theatre itself. As perhaps hinted by its title, Mormon features a lot of commentary about the Church of the Latter-Day Saints and organized religion in general. Throughout the musical, we see a multitude of jokes about some of the more far-fetched Mormon doctrine. One song in particular entitled “I Believe” features Elder Price confronting a warlord and reaffirming his faith by listing his beliefs, to comedic effect: “I believe…[God’s] plan involves/ me getting my own planet…I believe that the garden of Eden was/ in Jackson County, Missouri. “8 The function of this number is not just to create shallow laughs at the expense of Mormons, however— “I Believe” is attempting to say something deeper about blind faith. By showing unyielding belief as the catalyst for Elder Price doing something foolish, such as trying to convert a murderous warlord, Mormon points out that a dogmatic approach to faith not only wrong, but in fact dangerous.
Scholars Roberto Sirvent and Neil Baker compare many of Mormon’s ideas about religion with the philosophy of ethicist and theologian Reinhold Niebuhr.
Society and politics paragraph
Another prominent subject of Mormon’s satire is musical theatre itself, much in the vein of The Producers. The musical simultaneously lampoons Broadway’s stereotypes and tropes while embracing them.
[INCLUDE HOW IT COMPARES TO OTHER SATIRE, THIS IS THE BULK OF THE PAPER AND SHOULD BE AT LEAST 3+ PAGES LONG!]
why is Mormon successful? The answer may lie partially in the time period—in a world of popular shows like South Park and Family Guy, as well as raunchy comedies pervading movie theaters, a vulgar show about Mormons can be tolerated much more that it would be in much of the twentieth century. But the answer is deeper than just timing.
Whereas satirical musicals of the past had to sacrifice nearly all of their edge and wit in order to entertain audiences, Mormon is able to not only keep it all in, but utterly maximize it. This is a result of the message