IF you are easily offended, The Book of Mormon is not the musical for you.
But if you can leave your political correctness at the door, the show by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone along with Frozen composer Robert Lopez, is side-splittingly funny and easily one of the best I have seen.
The comedy musical is running at the Birmingham Hippodrome until March 28 and impresses with its catchy – yet crude – songs.
The show tells the tale of two Salt Lake City Mormons’ mission to Uganda, hoping to convert villagers to their religion.
Our protagonists – All-American jock Elder Price and compulsive liar Elder Cunningham – arrive in the country to discover most of the villagers have Aids and are greeted by a gun-wielding war lord who believes in genital mutilation.
Quite a shock considering Elder Price had hoped to be sent to Orlando.
The Ugandan villagers are given an edited version of the Book of Mormon – one which includes Lord of the Rings and Star Wars references.
Songs are catchy, with the band also impressing and lyrics crystal clear so you can hear every word.
There were nods to The Lion King and Starbucks throughout, especially in song ‘Spooky Mormon Hell Dream’ which involved Darth Vader and Jeffrey Dahmer dancing around with pink, sparkly pitch forks and OJ Simpson playing the bongos.
The Book of Mormon is smart, shocking, hilarious and not to be missed.
What else would you expect from the duo who came up with Eric Cartman?
Visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com to book.
