I had been planning a trip to NYC area for some time. I grew up near there, so it was a homecoming visit, and I wanted to meet some of the eastern PA exmos, and find out what had become of my former stake. Those visits will be another thread. When I heard the South Park guys were doing a Broadway musical on Mormons, I ordered a ticket back in February, based purely on faith that the show would be good. Lucky guess!
Funny thing was, 4 other people I knew were at the show, two from Washington DC, and two from SLC. I had coordinated with the people from Washington, but the SLC folks were there by coincidence. What are the odds? The two SLC people had done The Passion of Sister Dottie (writer, actor), a spectacular Mormon play in it's own right.
If you are reading this post, presumably you read the reviews in the media from 4 weeks ago when the show officially opened. Rave reviews, and reviews from people who don't normally do reviews, including Andrew Sullivan, Maureen Dowd, and today, David Brooks. Brooks was reliably conservative. I disagree with his conclusion that hard-line religions are more successful, but his opening paragraphs caught the feel of the show. You can read his comments here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/opinion/22brooks.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212I won't give a blow by blow review. Trained professionals have already done a good job of that. I'll just share some of my own reactions.
It rained 2 inches that afternoon and evening. There was a car accident right in front of the theater both before and after the show. You'd think that might have made for a sodden and sullen audience. The audience was electric. David Brooks might have seen it the same night I did. There was indeed a raucous standing ovation at the end.
The show itself was great. It is hard to give an unbiased view, but the audience seemed wildly enthusiastic, so it apparently wasn't just me who thought well of it. The final song was the perfect cherry on top of the sundae.
Two things really stuck out for me - an early number by a mishie about how a mission is "all about us (me and my companion) ----- but mostly me". It is how you prove to your family and church that you are good corporate material, which is how you rise in the ranks. Conversions, though welcome, are really incidental to what is essentially you being vetted for leadership. I was surprised the nevermo authors would pick up on that.
The other point that struck close to the bone was the Ugandan girl, Nabulungi (Nikki James, who I suspect landed the role that will make her career) who dreamed of "Salta Lake Cee-tee" as this magical place where everything was good and right and peaceful. I know a fair number of the people who joined in Brazil (where I served) had that basic attitude. They wanted to rub shoulders with people whose life they envied and hoped to emulate. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but for the vast majority, it was cruelly unrealistic, even if they made it to the US.
The girl is going to go places, I predict. Even playing a role where she was barefoot, poor, with no discernible makeup, she "pulled the focus", as they say. She, her father, the warlord, and the frumpy missionary were the principal characters. The JS character, BTW, looked exactly like the cartoon JS character in the South Park episode. :)
It was hilarious, but like I said, some of it cut close to the bone. There were scenes about guilt, like a mishie who had stolen a donut at age 12 and blamed his brother who got grounded. There was a nightmare scene, but the only recurring nightmare I ever had, and I have since heard here on RFM that this is pretty common, is that I was sent on a mission again. Too bad that couldn't get worked into the script.
There were 3 or 4 scenes I though could have been tweaked a bit, but many of the scenes were dead on, and making points I likely would never have thought of, because as an insider I take too much for granted. As I said above, the final scene was the perfect ending. There is only one other musical I have seen where I could tell you exactly what the final scene was - A Chorus Line, where after getting to know the individual lives of all the performers, they come out as a perfectly welded together troupe of identical terrific chorus dancers, with the big, Broadway finish.
In this show, the big song and dance number comes earlier, and that was one of the numbers that wasn't quite perfect IMO. Another was the scene with the mishies running around in their garmies at bed time. But the finale, by 3 seconds into it, the entire audience knew it was the finale, and it got a huge laugh and round of applause because it was the perfect ending. I'm not telling. You have to go to find out what it was.
The basic theme, IMO, was that it doesn't matter what ridiculous things we believe, if they give us hope and strength, and build a social compact that helps us all pull together, that's what matters.
I was extraordinarily lucky in that I had frequent flier miles, friends put me up most nights, and I was going to NY anyway. To just go for the musical would be pretty spendy. If you do get the opportunity, do not pass it up. I was blotting tears thru most of the show. Most of them were from laughter.
It will be on Broadway for a very long time. There will be touring companies. I guarantee it.
Side note: NYC had always intimidated me, and I had only been there twice before, the last time in 1975, on my honeymoon. Maybe it is because for the last 8 years I have read the NYTimes online religiously - around 200 articles a month (really - they keep count), but I was fascinated by Manhattan this time. If I ever win the lottery......
That is my report.