The last time I saw a legitimate musical was when Miss Saigon was playing in CCP. I fell in love with the show and didn’t mind to watch it a second or a third time. I was told that since I’ve already seen it, so why watch it again? I can’t explain it – but the closest one is – if you have a favorite movie, you won’t mind watching it over and over again, right? Well, that’s how I am – I am a creature of habit. When I learned last year that we were going to London – I was excited. I knew I wanted to watch a musical in London’s West End. I don’t think a London experience would be complete without watching a musical. My BIL (Brother In law) and SIL were deciding which musical to watch – of course, I suggested Miss Saigon! Haha.. But they were thinking of something different. For one, we had a lot of options as there were really so many shows in London. Then my cousin Andrea – who vacationed in London just recently, suggested that we see The Book of Mormon. I told my BIL and he agreed – he’s been reading too that if you want to see something light and funny – The Book of Mormon is a good choice. He didn’t want to see something heavy and instead wanted something light – so our moods won’t be affected during the trip. My BIL also said that tickets (for any show) were hard to come by. I wondered to myself, it only meant that – that many people see it? Wow, are the English and their tourists, very cultured!
Image grabbed from THIS site
So it was decided to go see The Book of Mormon. Yey! I had no idea what it was about. So, I just googled it. And then I saw *From the creators of South Park* Oh. My. Gosh. Trey Parker and Matt Stone! Hahaha I would never forget those guys, they made South Park – and it was the craze back in the day! (They always killed Kenny!) At first I couldn’t understand what the story was (I read the synopsis on Google- I mean I couldn’t find the humor – I felt it was a but shallow?) But I trusted my cousin’s recommendation. I thought, she wouldn’t recommend it if it was bad. Plus a Trey Parker and Matt Stone musical – I’m sure to be entertained, so I just trusted and left it to fate. On our 4th day in London – we went to see The Book of Mormon. We took the tube and in no time we were at West End. It was very busy – lights everywhere, it looked like a toned down Times Square (that I see on TV and movies) But it was still glitzy and different from where we were staying at. We walked around and looked for The Book of Mormon theater and got our tickets. I honestly saw the theater’s facade and wondered wow, it must be a deep seated theater to accommodate all of us. Then we headed off to a restaurant to have a quick dinner. When it was time, we went to the theater. I was really surprised to see how small the theater was – it was about 2 cinemas big? I had the impression that it was massive like that of our own CCP theater and it wasn’t. But the size was just right. Our seats were perfect! It wasn’t super near and not very far – we were in the middle and I liked that it was in the middle aisle. Then the show started. Man, we were in for a very entertaining show! I was laughing like crazy – I had such a blast. But then I think, my MIL wasn’t too happy with the show. To be honest, if you watch Book of Mormon you need to be open minded. If you are a religious fanatic, you may feel offended. But I was very secure in my faith that I found the story funny and entertaining. My MIL turned to me and asked *Won’t the Mormons be offended?* Well, I think the main aim of the show was to offend them and make fun of them because that’s the kind of comedy that Matt Stone and Trey Parker makes – offensive comedy and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. The story was real simple but then how the story evolved, well – it was where the fun began. I can’t go into detail the whole story but simply put – it pokes fun at religion and how it has evolved to *attract* believers. What are the (radical) things they did to get new *recruits*, how they humanized the teachings to make the locals believe in the sacred text and how religion was made relatable to every human being. It was hilarious how the Elder Cunningham made the Latter Day Saints *interesting* to an African tribe. The things he said and didn’t say, how he slightly bent the origins and how he left out and added some detail to make the situations more practical and relatable. It sort of reflects on how every religion currently tries to attract new members. Strength in numbers right? The lengths they would go through to preach *recruit*. I know I will get bashed with what I am going to say – but we are all suckers for religion. We are easily swayed by this and that. I am not saying that this is bad – what I’m saying is that we humans, by nature are suckered into religion by certain *interests and promises*. But that’s what religion is all about anyway – right? The ending was really really really hilarious – sarcastic hilarious that is! You need to watch it, I swear!! So if you’re planning to watch something light and entertaining and you’re one who is not easily offended easily with religion and is secure with whatever religion you have right now, then you need to go see The Book of Mormon. It will entertain the HELL out of you! There are a lot of offensive statements, cursing the gods to the ends of the earth, it will not sit pretty with you if you are easily offended. Remember, this is just a musical – nothing serious and not real (unless you make it feel real). Hahaha!!
