Shows B

THE BOOK OF MORMON A religious satire musical in 2 acts: Book, music and lyrics by by Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez. Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway - 24 March, 2011, (previews from 24 February, 2011) SYNOPSIS The Book of Mormon follows a pair of mismatched Mormon boys sent on a mission to a place that s about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get. In the present day, two mismatched Mormon missionaries are sent together to Uganda, Africa. Elder Cunningham is an insecure, overweight, irritating liar, while Elder Price is a devout, enthusiastic, handsome, pompous, over-confident fellow. There, they see people living in appalling conditions of famine, poverty and AIDS, who are ruled by a despotic, murderous chieftain. The native Ugandans curse their existence (saying, "Fuck you, God!"). Several other missionaries already in the country have been unable to convert the locals to Mormonism. The Ugandans cope with their miserable lives by feigning happiness. Price is certain that he can succeed where the other Mormon Elders have failed. The Ugandans find him arrogant and are not impressed. Soon, Price wishes to be sent elsewhere, like Orlando, Florida. Cunningham, unhappy with Price, finally takes the initiative. The local leader's daughter, Nabulungi, wants Cunningham to take the whole village to "Salt-e Lake City", where they can find fortune and avoid the horrors of rape, genital mutilation and murder. Cunningham lacks much knowledge of the Book of Mormon, but he makes up stories that combine what he knows of Mormon doctrine with bits and pieces of science fiction and other cultural ideas, many of them unsavory. The villagers are enchanted; they are baptised and accept Mormonism. They gain the confidence to resist the despot, who also finally converts. Price is astonished to learn that the importance of religion is not truth, but whether it helps people. Ironically, his faith, and that of the other missionaries, is revitalized, and they stay to help the village. STORY Act I At the LDS Church Missionary Training Centre in Provo, Utah, a devout, handsome, and supercilious missionary-to-be, Elder Kevin Price, leads his classmates in a demonstration of the door-to-door attempt to convert people to Mormonism. One of the missionaries, Elder Arnold Cunningham, is an insecure, overweight, incorrigible nerd and a compulsive liar who is completely hopeless at sticking to the approved dialogue. Price believes if he prays enough, he will be sent to Orlando, Florida for his two-year mission, but to his shock he and Cunningham are sent to Uganda as a pair. After saying goodbye to their families, the elders board a plane at the Salt Lake City airport. Price is sure he's destined to do something incredible (on his own), while Cunningham is just happy to have a best friend – one he met just the previous day and who, due to mission rule #72, literally cannot leave him alone except to go to the bathroom. Immediately upon arrival in northern Uganda, the two are robbed at gunpoint by soldiers of a local warlord, General Butt-Fucking-Naked (an allusion to the real General Butt Naked). They are welcomed to the village by Mafala Hatimbi and a group of villagers share their daily realities of living in appalling conditions of famine, poverty and AIDS, while being ruled by a despotic, murderous chieftain obsessed with female circumcision. To make their lives seem better, the villagers constantly repeat the phrase "hasa diga eebowai" and sing to the tune of a song composed around that phrase. Price and Cunningham join them in the song

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