After breaking the record for the highest selling period of any production at the Princess Theatre in 2015, the utterly hilarious musical, The Book of Mormon, is back in Melbourne. Say “Hello!” again to this Tony Award-winning production. Follow two mismatched Mormon boys, who are sent on a mission overseas, to a place that’s as far from Salt Lake City as you can get. This outrageous musical is now playing at the Princess Theatre.
The Book of Mormon
The book, music and lyrics for this show are by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. If those names sound familiar, it’s because Parker and Stone are the creators of South Park and Team America: World Police, giving you a great clue about the kinds of boundary-pushing humour you can expect from the musical. Nothing is off limits, with cheerful lyrics laced with obscenity and playful stabs at religion. Meanwhile, EGOT winner Robert Lopez co-wrote the songs for Disney’s Frozen and Coco, which adds another layer to jokes about The Lion King and Orlando, Florida.
This show made its world premiere on Broadway in 2011, before delighting audiences in London in 2013. It won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical, as well as a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre album.
Melbourne review
Whether you’ve seen it before, or this will be your first time, The Book of Mormon is definitely worth watching. For those familiar with the story, it’s a great chance to see some small, but meaningful, changes that were made to the show during the pandemic. Over two weeks, the original creative team gathered with the cast on Broadway and went through the entire script, in order to clarify the satire of the show, and provide more agency to the Ugandan characters. But rest assured, even with the changes, the show is still unhinged.
Sean Johnston (Hairspray) really is ‘Something Incredible’ as the confident Elder Price, while Nick Cox (Beauty and the Beast) is a riot as the imaginative and socially awkward Elder Cunningham. Rounding out the main Mormon characters is Tom Struik (Sister Act) as Elder McKinley, who dazzles the crowd at the closeted district leader.
Meanwhile, Paris Leveque makes her professional debut as Nabalungi, bringing warmth to the stage. Simbarashe Matshe shines as her loving and realistic father Mafala Hatimbi. Finally, Augie Tchantcho has a delightfully imposing presence in his reprisal as The General, and Matthew Hamilton returns as Mission President.
The songs and the choreography bring plenty of chaotic energy, with Spooky Mormon Hell Dream as an absolute highlight, with Starbucks cups and Jeffrey Dahmer running amok. Other notable moments included the glitz of Turn It Off, and the ridiculousness of I Am Africa.
The Book of Mormon is now playing at the Princess Theatre. For tickets and more information, click here.
📍163 Spring St, Melbourne VIC 3000