Review of "The Book of Mormon" (Musical)
​By C. Randall Nicholson

Premiering on Broadway in 2011, this musical from the creators of "South Park" follows a pair of clueless young missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are sent to Uganda, where they quickly discover that nobody is interested in their message because it doesn't seem to address their immediate problems of disease, poverty and violence. The missionaries, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, each experiences his own faith crisis, wrestles with some tough questions and comes out okay, if not exactly orthodox, by the end. The overall message of the play is that religion is absurd but can still be a force for good in people's lives if they don't take it too literally. Heralded as "a new standard for Broadway", it became one of the most successful musicals in history.

This is the part where I'm supposed to have nothing but gushing praise, because the play is a sacred cow. To criticize it at all would be to admit that I can't take a joke. It's satire, after all. The writers have built their entire career off being tasteless and offending everybody, after all. And indeed, in my experience the people who defend it with the most passion are liberal Latter-day Saints who desperately want everyone else to know how much they can take a joke. Many people would consider me a liberal and expect me to follow suit. But I'm not going to.

Okay, first of all, I admit I don't have much of a problem with the musical's portrayal of my religion either, which is pretty light-hearted and has done far more good than harm to the Church. It was one of two instigating factors in the 2011-12 "Mormon Moment" (the other being Mitt Romney's run for the U.S. presidency) when "Mormonism went mainstream", and has led at least a few people to convert. Even if I found it horribly offensive on that account I would recognize the wisdom of turning the other cheek and not wasting my outrage on it. The writers did a lot of research with current and former members of the Church and tried to present it accurately, and I appreciate that, though I do want to point out a few things they got wrong.

*At the beginning of the musical, Elders Price and Cunningham are already at the MTC when they learn to their chagrin that they're being sent to Uganda. In real life, prospective missionaries receive their assignments weeks or months before entering the MTC. This is probably a creative liberty taken for narrative purposes but it does beg the question of how Elders Price and Cunningham got their passports in order on such short notice.

*All of the missionaries in Uganda are white. In real life, at least half of the missionary force in every black African nation is black African. Elders Price and Cunningham would in all likelihood have each been assigned to a black African companion instead of each other. This is probably a deliberate attempt to make the Church look more American and disconnected from other cultures than it actually is, though it also introduces a white savior complex that doesn't need to be there and isn't in real life. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

*In the song "I Believe", Elder Price sings, "I believe that [God's] plan involves me getting my own planet". This is a snarky reference to the doctrine of exaltation and theosis, aka that Latter-day Saints can themselves become gods. But why would any self-respecting god settle for just one planet? Our God has "worlds without number".

*In the same song, Elder Price sings, "I believe that God lives on a planet called Kolob". Latter-day Saint doctrine actually teaches that Kolob is a celestial body (considered by most to be a star because it's referred to as such, though some have interpreted it as a planet) closest to the throne of God. It's not claimed to be where he actually lives.

I'm not going to wax all self-righteous, either, about the musical's astonishing level of vulgarity that in places sounds like it was written by a third-grader who's just discovered the f-word for the first time. For the record, though, I don't find jokes about raping babies particularly funny. I know, I'm such a prude.

What I really want to focus on is what most theatergoers and critics have bent over backwards to avoid focusing on since the musical's debut: its racism, straight out of a twentieth-century minstrel show except, again, far more vulgar. The meticulous research that went into the Church is nonexistent with regard to Uganda. The settings, the costumes, the names, and the words "Hasa Diga Eebowai" are all simply pulled from the writers' imaginations. This is just their generic idea of what "Africa" looks and sounds like. It can't even fairly be called a caricature when no real culture is represented at all.

I'm not the first person to notice this either. Here are a few others:

A Cringe-worthy Depiction of Africa

The Book of Mormon Review: Racism Scores Big in London's West End

Book of Mormon's Anti-African Racism is No Laughing Matter

The Hit Show's Breathtaking Racism

It's time that a black person reviewed "The Book of Mormon"

Is it time to pull the curtain on 'The Book of Mormon?'

"The Book of Mormon" musical is extremely racist

Worst thing about 'Book of Mormon' musical is the racism

'The Book of Mormon' punches down, racist tropes remain

Racism in 'The Book of Mormon' isn't funny

The Book of Mormon is Really Problematic

Popularity of Mormon Musical Just Baffling

It's time to talk about race and 'The Book of Mormon' musical