Rendering 7 (Theatre)

The article under analysis is taken from the Guardian and is entitled “The Book of Mormon – review.” It was published on March 24th, 2013, by Euan Ferguson.

In this article a new musical ‘The Book of Mormon” is discussed, which is now on in the theatre Prince of Wales, London. Mr. Ferguson is evidently is in favour of this play, for it is far cleverer, far kinder, far more nuanced than some modern performances, and one of its many surprises is that it sends an enraptured, ecstatic audience home with an odd sense of having come, somehow, to really like Mormons. From his point of view, the first surprise is how punchingly good the music and dancing are, by Robert Lopez and Casey Nicholaw respectively: you realize you're in for not just humour but a seriously fine night of entertainment, and it just keeps on getting better. The story itself about Mormons, which is so winningly, foot-stompingly told us, is bright, fierce, challenging and unashamedly scatological, offensive even, but – and the author of the article emphasizes this, - in such a good, clever, kind way.

Speaking of the musical, it would be necessary to say some words about the plot. The main characters, two Salt Lake City heroes, are sent as missionaries to none of the happy clean places, but to Uganda. They go in hope, with huge but faintly fixed smiles, of conversions, baptisms, validation – but everything appears to be not so bright and smooth as they have expected, as the Africans actually live in poverty, and the friends have to deal with Aids, baby-rape, malaria and the perhaps wholly excusable desire to repay God in mysterious ways. This, according to the author, has been the controversial and apparently offensive bit; still, it's one of the highlights. Analyzing the play in whole, Euan Ferguson also expresses the view that the entirely redemptive nature of the whole show, and how belief may be… insane, but also a force for temporal good.

In conclusion the author suggests that if you’re not against some controversial themes regarder in this musical, a night of unalloyed joy is provided to you. Having read such a review, I would follow the advice with pleasure and see the play, if I only could; and, due to the comments on this article, now I’m not alone in my wish to visit this performance.