I got this off of LDSAVOW.com, I am assuming it is legitimate.
MICHAEL BALLAM'S REVIEW OF MORMON MUSICAL ON BROADWAY!
This is a forward of an email just in of Michael Ballam's comments...
I spent the evening with Hal Prince & Sheldon & Margie Harnick last night as they were honored for their lifetime achievement in the theatre in Manhattan. Hal produced/directed Damn Yankees, Pajama Game, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Sweeny Todd, Phantom of the Opera, etc etc. Sheldon wrote She Loves Me, Fiorello, Apple Tree, Fiddler on the Roof, etc. Sheldon and Margie were VERY offended by Book of Mormon because they didn't like the depiction that one of the Elders had never read the Book of Mormon before going out into the field. I think I am perhaps the only Mormon they know, but they are VERY protective of me! I assured them, that such a thing is VERY unlikely to happen, but it did make for an interesting dramatic scenario. (Now that I think about it, there may be more out there than we know).
There is a song called "Turn it Off" which implies that Mormons shut down their base impulses. In other words, if they have a pornography or sexuality issue, they just don't think about it, and move on to other more productive things. I know that is rather simplistic, but there is some truth to the fact that we feel in order to overcome our problems we need to block the impulses and move on to better and loftier things. They thought it made us look like unfeeling, simple folk, which we are not. Perhaps I was SO WORRIED about what might take place in that musical, I was pleasantly surprised that they made the church look like good people. I asked him what he thought the message was and he said "Those Mormons DO believe some peculiar things, BUT they all seem to be nice and happy! So, just because you don't "get it" don't "knock it". I'm ok with that.
The Book of Mormon Musical is such a perplexing issue. We live in a very "mocking"world. Our humor has degenerated to ridicule and shock value. The irony of this musical is that the information center in Manhattan has been inundated for request for Books of Mormon. Somehow, people who see the musical ask themselves "what is it about these people that make them happy and loving?" As a result, they want to read the book. One of my friends in NYC is going out and giving away Books of Mormon outside the theatre and requesting to put them (FREE) inside the theatre. If the authors are really sincere when they say they have deep respect for the LDS church, it should not bother them.
I saw it in previews and was stunned beyond belief at how vulgar it was. I never dreamed I would live to hear such vulgarity uttered from a stage. I was numbed within minutes. I focused more attention on the audience than I did the stage trying to assess the response of those present. There were clearly defined "groups."
There were the South Park, young outrageous kids who were there who guffawed at every shocking obscenity (how long can you shock people before they're "unshockable"?), then there were the mature,
Broadway devotees who had furrowed brows trying to understand WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS?
Then there was another group I couldn't figure out. They were somewhat restrained in their reactions. At intermission I took out my pad of paper to write down some thoughts when someone from behind me said "Brother Ballam?" I thought maybe it was the destroying angel who had come to wisk me off to an eternal punishment. It was a sweet lady with her husband who had come from SLC with 150 other Mormons to do work in the Temple. They came to "check things out". During the second act THOSE were the folks I watched.
Act II is QUITE different than act I, and the tables turn about the influence of those courageous Elders and the impact they have on the people of Uganda. There is a baptismal scene that is riveting and the audience became VERY quiet as those dark black actors whose behavior had changed from anger and hostility to peace and joy as they came onto the stage dressed in white...it was something to see.
The final statement of the musical as I read it was "yes, some people believe some crazy things (like Jesus coming to the Americas after his crucifixion and ancient Jews leaving Jerusalem in 600 BC and crossing the sea...both ideas though they get a chuckle, you can tell it makes the audience think (Capt Cook...white god??? Ancient temples in meso-America etc), but there is SOMETHING about these people that is good. They are happy and loving and forgiving. There has to be something to it. I thought it was a subtle "love letter" to Mormons, BUT it is in the midst of a vulgar show that could NEVER play before our audience.
The next night I sat at the opening night party of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS next to the widow of Jule Styne (who wrote FUNNY GIRL). She knows the boys who wrote B of M and said I should contact them and explain that I think it could play before an LDS audience (of which there are 14M worldwide) if it weren't vulgar. She thinks they might re-write it. We'll see. I didn't get the message that religious people are out of touch with reality, I got the message that those WONDERFUL, COURAGEOUS, CLEAN-CUT youngsters who dedicate AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE, two years of service in parts of the world for which they have no experience or tools, MATURE very quickly and develop deep love for the people they serve. I think that is the take most people had leaving the theatre.
Of course, I felt like going home and washing my mouth and ears out with soap. It has generated HUGE interest in the Mormons in Manhattan and in a positive way. The "Mormon Jokes" in it are the kind you would hear given at ward parties. We do have a sense of humor about ourselves, and yes, we are a PECULIAR
people and intend to remain so. I think the church has reacted EXACTLY the right way by not protesting or showing offense. We have been good sports about it, which I think will prove important in the perception the world has for us. We ADMIT that our story is unlike any other and we make no apologies for that.
Who knows, maybe were it not for the over the top vulgarity and profanity that has come to be the hallmark of our entertainment world, that segment of the populace would never have had ANY contact with what Mormons believe or who they are. If that group goes away knowing nothing more than the fact that Mormons are all over the world trying to help and serve and hold to their unusual beliefs it might do some good.
In the meantime, we have to take the higher road and realize the power of the Book of Mormon has lasted for 2600 years and will endure for eternity...the musical will not.
Michael Ballam
I spent the evening with Hal Prince & Sheldon & Margie Harnick last night as they were honored for their lifetime achievement in the theatre in Manhattan. Hal produced/directed Damn Yankees, Pajama Game, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Sweeny Todd, Phantom of the Opera, etc etc. Sheldon wrote She Loves Me, Fiorello, Apple Tree, Fiddler on the Roof, etc. Sheldon and Margie were VERY offended by Book of Mormon because they didn't like the depiction that one of the Elders had never read the Book of Mormon before going out into the field. I think I am perhaps the only Mormon they know, but they are VERY protective of me! I assured them, that such a thing is VERY unlikely to happen, but it did make for an interesting dramatic scenario. (Now that I think about it, there may be more out there than we know).
There is a song called "Turn it Off" which implies that Mormons shut down their base impulses. In other words, if they have a pornography or sexuality issue, they just don't think about it, and move on to other more productive things. I know that is rather simplistic, but there is some truth to the fact that we feel in order to overcome our problems we need to block the impulses and move on to better and loftier things. They thought it made us look like unfeeling, simple folk, which we are not. Perhaps I was SO WORRIED about what might take place in that musical, I was pleasantly surprised that they made the church look like good people. I asked him what he thought the message was and he said "Those Mormons DO believe some peculiar things, BUT they all seem to be nice and happy! So, just because you don't "get it" don't "knock it". I'm ok with that.
The Book of Mormon Musical is such a perplexing issue. We live in a very "mocking"world. Our humor has degenerated to ridicule and shock value. The irony of this musical is that the information center in Manhattan has been inundated for request for Books of Mormon. Somehow, people who see the musical ask themselves "what is it about these people that make them happy and loving?" As a result, they want to read the book. One of my friends in NYC is going out and giving away Books of Mormon outside the theatre and requesting to put them (FREE) inside the theatre. If the authors are really sincere when they say they have deep respect for the LDS church, it should not bother them.
I saw it in previews and was stunned beyond belief at how vulgar it was. I never dreamed I would live to hear such vulgarity uttered from a stage. I was numbed within minutes. I focused more attention on the audience than I did the stage trying to assess the response of those present. There were clearly defined "groups."
There were the South Park, young outrageous kids who were there who guffawed at every shocking obscenity (how long can you shock people before they're "unshockable"?), then there were the mature,
Broadway devotees who had furrowed brows trying to understand WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS?
Then there was another group I couldn't figure out. They were somewhat restrained in their reactions. At intermission I took out my pad of paper to write down some thoughts when someone from behind me said "Brother Ballam?" I thought maybe it was the destroying angel who had come to wisk me off to an eternal punishment. It was a sweet lady with her husband who had come from SLC with 150 other Mormons to do work in the Temple. They came to "check things out". During the second act THOSE were the folks I watched.
Act II is QUITE different than act I, and the tables turn about the influence of those courageous Elders and the impact they have on the people of Uganda. There is a baptismal scene that is riveting and the audience became VERY quiet as those dark black actors whose behavior had changed from anger and hostility to peace and joy as they came onto the stage dressed in white...it was something to see.
The final statement of the musical as I read it was "yes, some people believe some crazy things (like Jesus coming to the Americas after his crucifixion and ancient Jews leaving Jerusalem in 600 BC and crossing the sea...both ideas though they get a chuckle, you can tell it makes the audience think (Capt Cook...white god??? Ancient temples in meso-America etc), but there is SOMETHING about these people that is good. They are happy and loving and forgiving. There has to be something to it. I thought it was a subtle "love letter" to Mormons, BUT it is in the midst of a vulgar show that could NEVER play before our audience.
The next night I sat at the opening night party of HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS next to the widow of Jule Styne (who wrote FUNNY GIRL). She knows the boys who wrote B of M and said I should contact them and explain that I think it could play before an LDS audience (of which there are 14M worldwide) if it weren't vulgar. She thinks they might re-write it. We'll see. I didn't get the message that religious people are out of touch with reality, I got the message that those WONDERFUL, COURAGEOUS, CLEAN-CUT youngsters who dedicate AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE, two years of service in parts of the world for which they have no experience or tools, MATURE very quickly and develop deep love for the people they serve. I think that is the take most people had leaving the theatre.
Of course, I felt like going home and washing my mouth and ears out with soap. It has generated HUGE interest in the Mormons in Manhattan and in a positive way. The "Mormon Jokes" in it are the kind you would hear given at ward parties. We do have a sense of humor about ourselves, and yes, we are a PECULIAR
people and intend to remain so. I think the church has reacted EXACTLY the right way by not protesting or showing offense. We have been good sports about it, which I think will prove important in the perception the world has for us. We ADMIT that our story is unlike any other and we make no apologies for that.
Who knows, maybe were it not for the over the top vulgarity and profanity that has come to be the hallmark of our entertainment world, that segment of the populace would never have had ANY contact with what Mormons believe or who they are. If that group goes away knowing nothing more than the fact that Mormons are all over the world trying to help and serve and hold to their unusual beliefs it might do some good.
In the meantime, we have to take the higher road and realize the power of the Book of Mormon has lasted for 2600 years and will endure for eternity...the musical will not.
Michael Ballam
Thanks! I've been looking for a review like this. Very nice to know your thoughts. I agree with what you said about the musical being able to influence a group that might otherwise be untouched.
ReplyDeleteI listened to the whole soundtrack, and I agree with bro. Ballam. Aside from a bunch of profanity (entirely on the part of the non-Mormon characters) it's a pretty positive message. Additionally, the music is really catchy! This is the opening number, where you are introduced to Elder Cunningham, the clueless elder who is one of the main characters. There is no profanity at all:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmp-xmguqh4
You should read John Mark Reynold of the Washington Post's take on the play. It is a good contrast of the above review (I need more proof its from Ballam! I got the email too, but I'm alway suspicious of emails.)
ReplyDeleteHere are a few highlights:
"The parts of the Book of Mormon I have seen are as innovative as a Newsies revival and as funny as the cruel, tasteless jokes told by an inebriated coworker at a Christmas party."
"The Book of Mormon is a minstrel show for our present age with Mormons as the joke.
Ugly plays did not by themselves produce the Klan or keep some Americans from voting for African-Americans. Original sin was enough for that, but minstrel shows did give racism an artistic and comedic whitewash. When Americans were hurt by the cruel stereotypes, they were told it was “just a joke” and were painted as petty for not laughing along."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/amos-and-andy-and-the-book-of-mormon/2011/06/15/AGRlHPWH_blog.html
Thanks for the insight. Here's to hoping it becomes something we can all watch.
ReplyDeleteI was there the night Bro. Ballam attended, and am good friends with the couple that sat behind him. Interestingly enough, there was a conference that weekend in Manhattan held by a group of Mormons who have felt disenfranchised by the mainstream church for one reason or another (though a number of us TBMs - True Believing Mormons - attended as a show of solidarity). Many of these folks are hanging on by their fingernails. We attended The Book of Mormon as a group, and the irony was that it was a transformative, healing experience for many of them.
ReplyDeleteA young non-LDS couple sat behind me, and we struck up a conversation at intermission. At first they couldn't believe that my friend and I were actually Mormons from Utah attending the show (we actually produced Driver's Licenses and temple recommends before they would believe us.) After talking about the play, they admitted to not knowing much about the Mormons beyond Prop 8, and that their opinions of us had changed for the better during the show.
Like Bro. Ballam, I agree that this musical is an odd mix of the spiritual and the profane. I found myself at times shocked, laughing to the point of tears, and touched by the spirit. Not sure how it would play here at home, though I suspect it would sell out and then be the topic of shock and dismay the next morning.) But overall, I believe that it will have a net positive effect on the folks (mostly jaded urbanites) who see it.
Johnson032 tactfully avoided posting what I consider to be John Mark Reynold's most perceptive comment:
ReplyDelete"Some Americans will allow it to confirm unthinking prejudice, while cowardly Mormons will applaud it hoping for crumbs of respectability."
http://wapo.st/k13L66
Clean up the language all you want, but this cesspool of a play will remain anti-Mormon to the core. Trey Parker's boasted "research" only damns him for knowingly repeating the 181-year old anti-Mormon lie that that Joseph Smith never showed the plates to anyone. Parker even has the audacity to put the lie in Joseph's mouth. Any Mormon who gives a pass to this egregious lie deserves to live on meager crumbs of respectability – and to drink from Broadway's gutter.
Why is it so important to the movers and shakers of popular society to make this lie part of the "common knowledge" about Mormonism? It can only be because they are blindly marching in lockstep with Mormonism's most tireless opponent!
He Who Must Not Be Named will never have a physical body and has made sure that all the world's major religions deny God's physicality. Everything said in any scripture about an "anthropomorphic" God must be interpreted as metaphorical. Mormonism is the one religion that teaches the truth about the nature of God. This is why it extremely important to HWMNBN to undermine the physical evidence of the divine origins of Mormonism.
That physical evidence resides in the plates. It is attested by twelve reliable witnesses (Joseph Smith included). Three of them saw the angel Moroni, hefted the plates, and heard the voice of God declaring the translation to be by "his gift and power." Eight others turned their leaves and carefully examined the engravings. All the witnesses were faithful to their testimony to the end. Their testimony will stand in any court of human law, as it stands in the Supreme Court of the Universe.
http://bit.ly/iixumu http://bit.ly/mJsthy http://bit.ly/lFWKll
Joseph Smith said, “It may be understood that the Church of the Latter-day Saints has taken its rise from a little leaven that was put into three witnesses. Behold, how much this is like the parable! It is fast leavening the lump, and will soon leaven the whole." http://bit.ly/iK4mzr
In his moment of glory at the Tony Awards, Parker "credited" Joseph Smith as co-writer. If he had bothered to actually read the even first book of the real Book of Mormon, he would have learned who it was that inspired his play to become so "popular in the eyes of the world."
If I were Trey Parker, I would "fear, and tremble, and quake." (1 Nephi 22:23) http://bit.ly/kL44Ya
Tracy Hall Jr
hthalljr'gmail'com
dang tracy. a little rough. how about a little civility like the brethren have counselled? I take little stock in what Reynolds said in any case ... he, unlike brother ballam, did not see the play. I for one felt the spirit during the final song ... that's my testimony and I'm sticking with it!
ReplyDeleteI have heard several of the "cleaner" songs from the show, which a friend sent me.
ReplyDeleteI think this show is bound to be highly offensive to most Mormons.
On the other hand, how many times have you heard a standing ovation from an audience of "gentiles" to a Mormon elder bearing his testimony? Here's the very moving (and in parts, jarring) song "I Believe" performed live at the Tony Awards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHEqCXY2B-w
(this has no swearing)
I think this will very possibly get some missionaries in more doors, due to people's curiosity, which of course is a good thing.
After all long decades, we finally got our wish for the church to be brought out of obscurity - with a vengence :)
I haven't been able to locate this from Ballam on the website LDSAVOW.com, but I assume this is legit.