REVIEW: Book of Mormon – Prince of Wales Theatre, London
Never in the history of the West End has a show arrived on a bigger wave of hype or anticipation than The Book of Mormon. Since early 2012, a whole year before opening night, the publicity juggernaut cranked into action with double page newspaper ads and general media saturation. So does Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone’s musical live up to its publicity? In a word – yes!
No, it’s not ground-breaking, earth-shatteringly original or genre busting as has been widely touted and none of the score is particularly memorable, but it is a great night’s entertainment. That said, if your offended by blasphemy songs about female circumcision, dialogue about rape or general foul language, then this really isn’t the show for you – but what do you expect from the creators of South Park?
The cast are it’s greatest asset – there isn’t a weak performance throughout, but standout among them are: Gavin Creel as Elder Price, Gared Gertner as Elder Cunningham and Stephen Ashfield as Elder McKinley, you can’t fail to be won over by their sheer charm, energy and skill.
It is genuinely laugh out loud funny – prepare to gasp and guffaw at the same time at some of the more near the knuckle parts.
Is it worth booking months in advance? Is it worth queuing for the daily ticket lottery? – Absolutely – if you want to leave the theatre with your jaws sore from laughing then this is the show for you.
