Review by Phillip Smith
“The Book of Mormon” Music Hall – Kansas City, Missouri – December 27, 2018
Making it’s third trip through Kansas City, the question has to be “Does ‘The Book of Mormon’ hold up? Thank you, Heavenly Father, because the answer is a resounding “yes!”
Winner of nine Tony Awards in 2011, including Best Musical, “Book of Mormon” is the brain-child of “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who conceived the production with “Avenue Q” composer Robert Lopez.
The show tells the story of two young missionaries, Elder’s Price (Kevin Clay) and Cunningham (Jacob Ben-Shmuel) , who are sent to Uganda to introduce Jesus Christ to the natives. Of course, things don’t go the way they should, with results that can only be expected from the team that gave us “South Park” and “Team America.”
The production was well staged and the cast enthusiastic. As was the audience, who erupted into applause when it was noted that “the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri,” which is also where Kansas City is located.
Almost a decade after it premiered, “The Book of Mormon” continues to be one of the best musicals running, and easily one of the best musicals of this century.
