Billy Elliot the Forum

With the tragic events of yesterday's Boston Marathon still raw, it was quite the day to drop by the Boston Opera House to see The Book of Mormon. The Celtics game was canceled this evening and so a gathering of 2100 people isn't worth an alternative target for a bomber, right? Right, thank God. While it remains a tragedy that these senseless acts of violence are what we have to live with these days, it is worth the affirmation that we will not be held hostage by the lunatics. The USA is still a great place to live and as much as our enemies try to ruin it, they will not prevail.

A higher level of police presence was felt tonight in the city and it was rather comforting. Sure, the line moved more slowly getting into the theater while every bag was checked, but that was a good thing tonight.

Anyway. The term that was most prominent in my mind while seeing this show was riotously funny and I don't believe it had anything to do with yesterday's bombs. The climax of substitute names for Nabulungi was a tip of the cap to Red Sox Nation and that was well appreciated.

Tonight's show also featured a veteran of the 1st National Tour of BETM, Jonathan Cullen, as Elder Price. An excellent performance by Jonathan. And no, that is not a product of my slight predisposition to thinking that excellence is expected from those named Jonathan.

I actually also recognized CK Edwards, a long time member of the BETM Broadway Ensemble.

All in all, a good night to celebrate a triumph of art over terrorism. May that ever be the case.

Jonathan

Thanks for your post, Jonathan. So glad you were not in the vicinity of the bombing on Monday.

atreyu wrote:I actually also recognized CK Edwards, a long time member of the BETM Broadway Ensemble.

Wow, had no idea he was doing that, good for him!

I saw the national tour of Book of Mormon in Syracuse this Saturday night. Their advertising is correct: it is the funniest musical I've ever seen. It has a strong cast performing in an opulent 3000 seat 1928 downtown theater, the Landmark.
In my 30+ years of going to theater this show had the wildest pre-show scene on the sidewalk in front of theater. At first I thought it was part of the advertising for the show but boy was I wrong. There was a guy with a microphone and a large sign loudly sermonizing on the evils of Mormonism: "Joseph Smith had 34 wives and Brigham Young had even more". "When you think Mormonisn think Scientology. They are very similar." He was explaining why it was a cult and not a religion. Standing 2 feet away from this guy was a young Mormon Elder (he had his elder badge on) quietly handing out copies of the Book of Mormon. Another 5 or 6 Elders were nearby also handing out the books to the throngs of people ready to enter the theater. I hung around on the sidewalk to watch the unusual scene. None of the young Mormons ever engaged the speaker in debate. Finally I made my way inside. During intermission there were comments about how much the real pre-show Mormon Elders looked and dressed like the fake Mormons on stage.

I saw the show this afternoon and thought it was fabulous! I really did laugh till I cried at parts of it all over again (saw it in London back in May). What I didn't realize until I looked at the playbill is that Elder Price on this tour is played by David Larsen, u/s Tony from the Broadway production of BETM. However, David was not on this afternoon, and we got Declan Egan, from Australia, in the role instead. He was terrific, as were all of the cast. Of course there was a huge standing ovation from the audience at the end. What a great way to spend my Saturday afternoon!

Oh, and by the way, there were real Mormon elders outside the theater handing out cards before the show and copies of the Book of Mormon afterwards.

Last night I saw The Book of Mormon, at the Ruth Eckerd Hall, in Clearwater, Florida. It was my first opportunity to see a show which has garnered such good press and great popularity. As expected, the line of polite, well-scrubbed young men in white shirts, ties and name badges as we entered, were not cast members waiting to go on stage, but were real 'Elders' of the LDS Church, faithfully representing their missionary commitment to spread the word. What went on inside made that effort seem almost fruitless, as the capacity audience screamed with laughter and roared with approval at what can only be deemed a mockery of another's faith. But the LDS Church did manage to buy three full color page ads in the Playbill, with the simple message: 'You've seen the play.....now read the book'. Very sporting of them.

The performance was fantastic, loud, flamboyant, hyperactive and just a little silly. It was Spamalot minus the Footlights' subtleties; it was full-frontal-in-your-face humor at the expense of others; it was enjoyable and it was disconcerting; as though untouched boundaries were being breached at every turn. You knew you should not laugh, and you felt a frisson when you did. There is no moral to this story; you do not leave feeling particularly refreshed or renewed; it is the slightly seedy strip club poll dance of the musical world. Not one song stayed in my memory. (I do now worry, however, about where I may find maggots...) But what can I say? I saw only two patrons walk out, out of a crowd of 2200. I heard the enormous roar at the finale. The singing, the acting and the technical aspects were pure perfection. Maybe we need to poke a little fun, at the expense of tradition and belief, to remind ourselves that we are human.....

I noted only two BETM connections in the Playbill: Joyce Davidson (production stage manager) and Steve Henry (stage manager).

Am I glad I saw it? Most certainly. Would I see it again? Doubtful.