Have you heard? If you’ve been out and about in the city, you would have seen the mysterious posters proclaiming that “The Mormons are Coming!”. That’s right, one of the most successful musicals of all time, The Book of Mormon is coming to New Zealand in March 2020.
It’s come as close as our Aussie friends, but this will be the first time the hilariously vulgar hit musical will be crossing the ditch. Written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of fatuous comedies South Park and Team America, along with Avenue Q writer and Frozen composer George Lopez, expect to be both delighted and shocked as you delve into the world of Mormonism.
Though the cult-classic status means The Book of Mormon likely needs no introduction, the crass satirical comedy centres around two Mormon missionaries Elder Price and Elder Cunningham. Setting off on their mission to spread the word of the Latter Day Saints, they accidentally land in a small Ugandan village, and find the villagers are unsurprisingly more concerned about the AIDS epidemic, famine and village warlords. What ensues is foul-mouthed chaos that hits the note of being both jarringly crass and wickedly intelligent.
Expect to find your jaw on the floor—whether it be from how far they take it (South Park pales in comparison), the outrageously catchy music and quick-witted humour, this worldwide sensation is set to take New Zealand by storm.
Don’t just take it from us. The musical comedy has an impressive number of sensational reviews, record-setting ticket sales, nine Tony Awards, four Olivier Awards, and a Grammy under its belt since its debut in 2011. The most surprising part might be that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints even responded with purchasing advertising space in its playbill in later runs.
These tickets are likely to sell out faster than you can say ‘Hasa Diga Eebowai’ (you'll learn what this means in no time), so snap your tickets up here from 9am Monday 5 August.
The Deets
What: The Book of Mormon
Where: The Civic, Auckland
When: March 2020
Get your tickets here from Monday 5 August.
Image credit: The Book of Mormon Australia