The Mormons are back in Scotland after a triumphant run at the Edinburgh Playhouse last month. ‘The Book of Mormon’ follows Elder Price and Elder Cunningham as they head off to Uganda in an attempt to spread the lord’s word.
Robert Colvin is great as Elder Price, the versatility in his portrayal and strong vocals truly are fantastic. While we see a stereotypical positive Mormon exterior, we see the inner conflict in beliefs and throughout it all he embraces the satire and farcical antics.
Conner Peirson is utterly brilliant as Elder Cunningham, the comic timing and sublime vocals deliver a rip-roaring portrayal which makes audiences fall in love with Arnold. The energy he supplies never dips, the chaos is continuous and delivers a majority of the comedy.
Aviva Tulley gives us incredible vocals and a heart of gold as Nabulungi. ‘Sal Tlay Ka Siti’ is a standout number in ‘Book of Mormon’ thanks to Aviva’s stunning vocals and delivery of the comic yet heartwarming lyrics.
Jordan Lee Davies is hysterically funny as Elder McKinley and Moroni. Both portrayals are like watching a cartoon character come to life. Elder McKinley is a supporting character that has 10 minutes stage time max, and yet he is a stand out in this production thanks to the joyously hysterical performance Jordan Lee Davies provides.
Another hilarious supporting character is Mafala Hatimbi performed by the brilliant Ewen Cumnins. ‘Hasa Diga Eebowai’ practically acts as a gateway to the true form of comedy this musical features, and Ewen leads this with a blunt, unfiltered and deadpan delivery which makes the number all the more hilarious. Also the dialogue Mafala is given is golden and Ewen does it justice by neither underplaying or overplaying it, there is the perfect balance which is almost naturalistic with a tinge of elevation, which leaves the audience in stitches.
Johnathan Tweedie takes on multiple roles as Joseph Smith, Jesus, Price’s Dad & Mission President, as each of these characters Johnathan delivers something that is reminicent of a South Park character which obviously is perfect for this musical. A highlight has to be his camp Jesus, which really is a beam of light.
Thomas Vernal is hysterically funny as the General and Satan, the obscene and mental events the general goes through, is delivered so brutally that the audience cannot help but laugh with the shock of how obscene this character truly is, yet they can’t help but love him.
The ensemble of this cast each make their own impact through the various roles they play and their commitment to making Book of Mormon one of the wildest and funniest musicals out there. The ensemble are as follows; Sanchia Amber Clarke (Swing), Loren Anderson, Jed Berry (Swing), David Brewis-Scott (Swing), Tré Copeland-Williams, Tom Dickerson, Chanel Edwards-Frederick, Patrick George, Tad Hapaguti, Daniel Haswell, Evan James, Darren John, Michael Lewis, George Littell, Nicole Louise, Fegal McGoff, Ben Middleton, Sasha Monique, Daniel N’Guessan-Lopez, David Perkins, Rory Shafford, Chomba S. Taulo, Sharon Wattis & Jacob Yarlett (Understudy Elder Cunningham).
Trey Parker, Matt Stone & Robert Lopez’s book is hysterically funny, with heart, shock and insane antics. Every character is unlike anything we have seen in musical theatre, they embrace some of the stereotypes but throw that out the window the satire and obscene dialogue or context. The music in this production is sublime ‘Hello’, ‘You and Me (But Mostly Me)’ & ‘I Believe’ have become iconic musical theatre numbers of their own accord despite taking inspiration and almost spoofing other acclaimed musicals.
Trey and Casey Nicholaw’s direction helps make this a high standard production where despite the crude humour features, the production is by no means cheap, quite the opposite, complemented by Scott Pask’s brilliant cartoonish scenic design, Brian MacDevitt’s radiant lighting and Ann Roths superb varied costume. Casey Nicholaw’s choreography is also superb, the tap routine in ‘Turn it off’ is fabulous. Although Brian Ronan’s sound design helps lift this production, it must be said that the musical was pretty quiet.
‘Book of Mormon’ is undoubtedly the best comedy musical of all time. The comedy featured is raucous, crude and risky, however if you are into this kind of humour then this production will be one of the best things you have seen on a stage.
Images from Paul Coltas.
Get your tickets for ‘Book of Mormon’ at the Theatre Royal here:
https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-book-of-mormon/theatre-royal-glasgow/
Theatre Scotland 
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