The Book of Mormon – Bord Gais Energy Theatre – Review
01 April – 03 May 2025

THE BOOK OF MORMON

The Mormons are back, or so the ads tell us! In this production, we meet the latest graduates of the ‘Missionary Training Center’. The undoubted star graduate is Elder Kevin Price (Adam Bailey), a dashing young man with the world at his feet. Elder Arnold Cunningham (Sam Glen), on the other hand, is something of an also-ran, a nondescript individual who has a difficult relationship with the truth. Kevin dreams of being a missionary in Orlando and hopes to be assigned to this location to begin his life’s work. Instead, he is paired with Arnold and assigned to Uganda! And so, our tale begins as our upbeat missionaries arrive in a country controlled by warlords with massive problems such as HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty and female genital mutilation. The locals seem to have little to no interest in this new religion!

The Book of Mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are relatively well known for their South Park exploits. Robert Lopez isn’t a household name, but he is one of only 21 EGOT winners. He’s also the youngest person to win an EGOT, having won two Oscars, three Tonys, three Grammys, and four Emmys. He is known for works such as Frozen and Avenue Q. I suspect he may have done most of the heavy lifting on the musical side of this musical comedy.

The play premiered on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre in March 2011, and was a massive success. It has been running in the West End since 2013. This touring production visits 12 cities mainly in the UK before finishing in Milan in December.

The play is irreverent and pokes fun at some major issues, much the same way South Park deals with some serious issues. It feels strange to be laughing at some of the subject matter, but it does help highlight the issues being discussed. The cast is massive and there are scenes filled with action and movement that really capture the epic nature of the production. It’s of a size and scale equal to any of the usual West End productions.

Despite being 14 years since it was first performed, it still feels fresh and up to date. It is one of those rare works that would appeal to fans of traditional musical theatre, along with those who just like madcap comedies. It is not something that will appeal to everyone, and comes with an age recommendation of 15+, so leave the kids at home.  It should appeal to anyone who enjoys its sensibilities and is prepared to indulge its sharp-edged humour. There are some hilarious moments, and it’s worth paying close attention to the wisecracking lyrics of the songs!