God's favorite musical
I saw The Book of Mormon yesterday afternoon so behind the cut is a lot of dorkish rambling. You've been warned.
Before the cut I will say that it was the absolute best thing I've seen in my entire life, not just strictly theater related. EVER. Even with it's 'flaws', which I don't even want to call that because the show is flawless. If you can, GO SEE IT. It's currently touring, so find the nearest show and sell your first born for a ticket if you have to :D
Or at least hunt down the pirated copy that's floating around online if you haven't yet.
The Not-So-Awesome:
* NO RORY O'MALLEY (Elder McKinley)! WUT? His understudy was on. As far as vocals go, he was actually pretty damn fantastic and on par with Rory. My only complaint (other than the fact that is wasn't Rory...) was that he never went full retard gay? McKinley is supposed to be suppressing gay feelings/thoughts/tendencies, but that act just sort of crumbles away completely a few times during the course of the show, most noticeably in 'Turn It Off', and he just... never went there with it. There was just a certain amount of sass and flamboyance lacking in those spots where we're supposed to be catching glimpses of what's really going on behind the (poorly constructed) facade. Also, he didn't deliver the 'CRUSH IT' line the way Rory does.
* Nic Rouleau as Elder Price... Ummmm. Maybe not-so-awesome is super harsh. He was good, but he's no Andrew Rannells. Andrew WAS Elder Price, and you could absolutely buy and understand why all the others looked up to him and thought he was the best Mormon who ever Mormoned out of their class. Nic just doesn't have the same presence or command that kind of authority. Price's boyish charm stuff, he's got, but Super Mormon trying to change the world? Not so much. And everything he did just seemed SO stiff and forced, and there was no sign of that with Andrew's Price; it was all very natural and fluid with him. BoM was Nic's BWay debut, so there's that. Debuting as a lead in a show that usually plays to full houses and is ranked up there with Wicked and The Lion King in terms of popularity? Yeah, I can imagine it's insane. And he's only been the full-time Price since early June of this year. Hopefully, he'll get more comfortable and own the role, because it still feels like he's serving as someones understudy.
The Awesome:
* NIKKI. OH THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE A TONY.
* Elder White's awesome faces? (You'll know him when you see it, before he even announces his name.) NOT JUST FOR TV. I love him and his goofy face. And his Jeffrey Dahmer.. Show, you are so incredibly fucked up XD
* Elder Thomas/Pop-Tarts. Da preciousssssss. I want to put him in my pocket.
* SERIOUSLY EVERYTHING ELSE EVER
Even with a lead that's a notch or two below the original guy, this show is nothing short of fantastic. And for people there who hadn't seen the pirated copy of the show while it was still in previews, with the full original cast and the sky-high expectations that come along with that, it was probably even better than just fantastic.
I ended up paying nearly double what the face-value of the ticket was, and it was worth every penny. I'd do it again, too. I plan to see it again, no doubt. Hopefully next time there will be Rory :E
Oh, I also went dressed like a Mormon and the lady next to me asked if I was in the show. She was annoying and uppity and I wanted to throw her cellphone over the balcony. I didn't, though. That would have been very un-mormon-like.
Before the cut I will say that it was the absolute best thing I've seen in my entire life, not just strictly theater related. EVER. Even with it's 'flaws', which I don't even want to call that because the show is flawless. If you can, GO SEE IT. It's currently touring, so find the nearest show and sell your first born for a ticket if you have to :D
Or at least hunt down the pirated copy that's floating around online if you haven't yet.
The Not-So-Awesome:
* NO RORY O'MALLEY (Elder McKinley)! WUT? His understudy was on. As far as vocals go, he was actually pretty damn fantastic and on par with Rory. My only complaint (other than the fact that is wasn't Rory...) was that he never went full retard gay? McKinley is supposed to be suppressing gay feelings/thoughts/tendencies, but that act just sort of crumbles away completely a few times during the course of the show, most noticeably in 'Turn It Off', and he just... never went there with it. There was just a certain amount of sass and flamboyance lacking in those spots where we're supposed to be catching glimpses of what's really going on behind the (poorly constructed) facade. Also, he didn't deliver the 'CRUSH IT' line the way Rory does.
* Nic Rouleau as Elder Price... Ummmm. Maybe not-so-awesome is super harsh. He was good, but he's no Andrew Rannells. Andrew WAS Elder Price, and you could absolutely buy and understand why all the others looked up to him and thought he was the best Mormon who ever Mormoned out of their class. Nic just doesn't have the same presence or command that kind of authority. Price's boyish charm stuff, he's got, but Super Mormon trying to change the world? Not so much. And everything he did just seemed SO stiff and forced, and there was no sign of that with Andrew's Price; it was all very natural and fluid with him. BoM was Nic's BWay debut, so there's that. Debuting as a lead in a show that usually plays to full houses and is ranked up there with Wicked and The Lion King in terms of popularity? Yeah, I can imagine it's insane. And he's only been the full-time Price since early June of this year. Hopefully, he'll get more comfortable and own the role, because it still feels like he's serving as someones understudy.
The Awesome:
* NIKKI. OH THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE A TONY.
* Elder White's awesome faces? (You'll know him when you see it, before he even announces his name.) NOT JUST FOR TV. I love him and his goofy face. And his Jeffrey Dahmer.. Show, you are so incredibly fucked up XD
* Elder Thomas/Pop-Tarts. Da preciousssssss. I want to put him in my pocket.
* SERIOUSLY EVERYTHING ELSE EVER
Even with a lead that's a notch or two below the original guy, this show is nothing short of fantastic. And for people there who hadn't seen the pirated copy of the show while it was still in previews, with the full original cast and the sky-high expectations that come along with that, it was probably even better than just fantastic.
I ended up paying nearly double what the face-value of the ticket was, and it was worth every penny. I'd do it again, too. I plan to see it again, no doubt. Hopefully next time there will be Rory :E
Oh, I also went dressed like a Mormon and the lady next to me asked if I was in the show. She was annoying and uppity and I wanted to throw her cellphone over the balcony. I didn't, though. That would have been very un-mormon-like.