My Heart's As Full As a Baked Potato
By Brian Prisco | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (9)
Trust me when I say it’s a shpadoinkle day, friends. Within my crusty black soul resides the heart of a musical theater fan, and I know there’s a shitton of you theater queens out there with me. So rejoice, for Trey Parker and Matt Stone are going to bringing their talents to Broadway with a new musical called “The Book of Mormon.”
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is the best original film musical since Hedwig crooned about the towering velvetine. Catchy, infectious songs with a twisted, hilarious plot — it’s everything you could hope for from a musical. And while I feared theater was going to die with its blue-haired crowd and non-procreating mostly gay fanbase, it’s been taking a maniacal bent toward the grotesque that I simply adore — Bat Boy, Avenue Q, American Psycho. Alright, Urinetown might have been a bit much.
They’ve joined forces with Robert Lopez — one of the creators of the vulgar puppet spewing Avenue Q — to bring the Book of Mormon to the stage. It tells the story of two Mormon missionaries trying to spread the gospel to war-torn Uganda while paralleling the story of Joseph Smith and the founding of the Mormon church. Granted, while this sounds like someone tossing a few “South Park” episodes into a bowl with the remnants of Orgazmo after someone picked all the porn out and microwaving it on high for three minutes, that’s kind of where musical theater’s been the last few years. Ahh! Turn it down, you caterwauling Gleeks, I’m saying most of the newest productions have been rehashed pop-culture stuff. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Plus, if you’ve been following Parker and Stone’s career, they’ve got an unbelievable appreciation for musical theater. Cannibal: The Musical was flawed, but funny as hell for what was essentially a student film. They’re constantly working musical numbers in to South Park with excellent results. And they’re approaching the musical with the usual irreverence — touting that the Book of Mormon is frighteningly similar to the Lord of the Rings.
I’m kind of excited for this — especially if they can snag NPH for one of the leads?
(Source: NY Post via Anna von Beaversmack)
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Comments
Posted by: Ian at April 21, 2010 10:38 AM
Um. Prisco? Urinetown is my favorite. Of all time. It's pretty brilliant, at least give it that.