Review: (Toronto) The Book of Mormon

Mark Evans (photo: Joan Marcus)

Thank you God! (Ma ha nei bu, Eebowai!)
Like a Joseph Smith torpedo from the mouth of Christ, The Book of Mormon is an explosion of all that is good in musical theatre

by Stuart Munro

@StuartMunroTO

Every now and then a show comes along you know you’ve just got to see, no matter what. So even though CharPo was not invited to The Book of Mormon’s opening night, I spent the cash and dragged myself and Dave Ross down to the Princess of Wales Theatre to find out exactly what everyone has been raving about.

It could not have been money better spent.

The Book of Mormon is every bit as infectious and joyous and silly and offensive and heartfelt as I’ve heard, and then some. Taking you across the Atlantic to the hard life of Northern Uganda the show takes an honest, if light hearted, look at what really lies behind faith, and what happens when a shaky faith is challenged. The answer, ultimately, is a belief in the truths behind the literal nonsense of the stories (“It’s called a metaphor . . .”).