It took me this long to finally see it. I was leaving the cult a 16 years ago and I had a lot of anger about the cult. I could not see the humor in any of it. Now I can.

Anyway, the whole thing was awesome! I loved the number "Turn it off". Super fun. It was great to be in a huge theater with lots of people enjoying the musical that makes fun of mormons. I suppose we were all in the great and spacious building...

Glad you enjoyed it. My husband was a convert, but he loved it and got every nuance.

I went with a non-LDS friend, and saw it in London and New York, where I am sure the large majority of the audience was not LDS. I don't know if they got all the nuances, but they laughed heartily, and sometimes laughed and applauded, in all the right places.

They may not get it all, but the get most of it. I saw it in NYC just a couple weeks after it opened, when hardly anybody knew if it was going to be good or not. By pure blind coincidence I was planning to be in NYC shortly after it opened and thought that it might be fun. I bought a ticket before it even opened, and got 4th row 1st balcony on a Saturday night, no problem.

You could feel the electric anticipation in the theater as the play opened. I think people were thinking "this was expensive - it damn well better be good." In about the middle of the opening number the audience broke out into long and loud applause. It was clearly good. And it was about to get a lot more expensive.

I saw it 5 or so years later in London, as a walk-in tourist the day of the performance. Last 2 seats in the house, last row. It was good, but the electricity from not knowing what was coming was not there. The soundtrack was out, word of the content had spread. I was surprised that some of the content had been toned down. I hear that it has been rewritten even more after the George Floyd protests and covid break. For instance, the African young girl is no longer totally flummoxed in a very child-like way (and mocked for it) about texting.

I suppose I should not have been surprised at the changes. The original was pretty over-the-top. And all plays eventually get dated. I saw A Chorus Line in its early years, and then saw it again maybe 30 years later, and a small scene that was one of my favorites the first time I saw it was gone.

I just watched the 1985 movie, A Chorus Line, which I loved as a 13 year old. As a 50 year old, it was less amazing.

I still love Avenue Q, though. That is the story of my life on so many levels.

The first time you see any play or musical it is the most magical. I’m wondering about Hamilton, saw it pre pandemic, it is on our tour schedule for next year. I’m hoping it is still enthralling.

I’ll admit I still jump when the chandelier falls in Phantom, even after seeing it multiple times.

Loved Book of Mormon both time I’ve seen it, but have not seen it since 2019.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2022 03:39PM by shortbobgirl.

My very obtuse "I saw a musical !!" claim to fame:

I saw Flower Drum Song as a dinner theater production in Las Vegas about 200 times.

To be fair?n isn't really aimed at Mormons, since it was written by two Nevermos and aimed at a largely non-LDS audience.

That said, it looks awful. I can't stand most musicals and am not a fan of South Park most of the time.

Besides being a send up of Mormons, and in many ways religions in general, it is also a send-up of musicals, especially the Disney ones. So there is that should Nehor choose to see it. The typical big Disney song from the heroine is there. I can't stand those either so it was fun to see it made fun of.

More than 17 million have seen the musical since 2011 so apparently it only looks awful to Nehor and a few others. I personally got chills and laughed and cried at the same time during much of it. I saw it when it was first open. The cleverness of the book is something. I was shocked at how uproarious the laughter was from the audience who were not return missionaries like me and knew very little about Mormons.

And "Turn It Off" was a very special gift to those of us in the know.

Not sure if I'd go see it if it were here. I really dislike musicals.