Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Book of mormons review
We entered the Prince of Wales Theatre in the Westminster area of London on a beautiful evening on the 27th of April. The show was sold out but the lines were Incredibly manageable. There was a bit of electricity In the air. I tried to gauge what it was but couldn't put my finger on It. Was it Just anticipation? Maybe it was the beautiful weather that made people lively. After grabbing a quick cocktail to get ready for the show, the signal came to take your seat. The show was ready to start! The show began. From the very beginning, it was obvious that the producer's were going to pull out all of the comedic stops.The bludgeoning of the Mormon faith began in earnest and you got a quick feeling that there could be some cringing moments In the play. I found myself looking around at the audience during the first act to see what was happening on people's faces. I saw shock and awe. I saw older women in their seventies laughing to the core at some of the more raunchy material. Some of the audience members appeared conflicted in how they should respond. Here was a play making direct attacks on a large religion and mixing In sex, nasty language and blasphemy to entertain the audience.Is it k to laugh? Evidently, most people felt like it was perfectly fine because the first part of the play was non-stop laughter, great music and fabulous acting. Every character had his/her own personality and grew Into their roles, I felt Like the first part of the play was over before in no time. The second half of the play picked up where the first half left fifth surprise and honeybees. There was a small period at the beginning of the second part where the play did slow down a little bit. The scene was a little slow and the music was not as lively as other music pieces.It did pick back up and the second part of the play need with several twists that were unexpected and that really brought all of the themes of the play back together for what was a fantastic ending. The Prince of Wales Theatre was a beautiful venue with the expected perks of a venue named after royalty. The sound was of the highest quality. The seats were The producers decided on a very simple set. While there were a few special effects, the majority of the play was staged on Just a few sets that were role on and off the stage by the actors. No incredible electronics to manage set logistics.Just old- fashioned stage set changing. The lighting was satisfactory. There was not a lot of opportunity to mix the lighting effects up. Now to the performers. The primary characters were the Elders who were part of the Mormon mission. The main character, Elder Price played by Gavin Creel, performed well throughout most of the show but seemed to fizzle a bit toward the end. Elder Cunningham, played by Jarred Greener, seemed to be an odd choice for the role but really developed the character throughout the play and sold most of the audience by the time the show ended. The lead Elder, Elder McKinley was played by Stephen Sheffield.He was steady and consistent throughout and really added some surprising comic relief. While I wont go through all of the characters, the tribal characters all had unique roles and managed them to perfection. I have to say that I walked away from the play with an embedded grin on my face. I was totally shocked by the extreme sarcasm displayed and the total dismantling of a faith and its beliefs. I walked away scratching my head at the Mormon faith, its origins and its validity. That is quite an accomplishment! I would highly recommend everyone to see the play and to enjoy an evening of fun and laughter.
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