SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – The biting satirical musical that mocks Mormons has finally come to the heart of Mormonlandia, starting a sold-out, two-week run Tuesday at a Salt Lake City theater two blocks from the church’s flagship temple and headquarters.
The Tony Award-winning “The Book of Mormon” has earned rave reviews while appalling some with its crudeness. But this will mark the first time the show’s gleefully naive missionaries come to Utah, where about two-thirds of residents are estimated to be Mormon.
The show’s creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone of “South Park” fame, told The Associated Press that bringing the show to Salt Lake City feels like validation, and also brings the creative process full circle.
Parker and Stone used to “trip out” on Mormon stuff while taking Temple Square tours in the 1990s. They made their first research trip for the show to Salt Lake City with fellow creator Bobby Lopez in the mid-2000s. They waited to bring the show to Salt Lake City until they were invited by a theater.
“It feels like a really cool thing that it finally gets to play Salt Lake City,” Stone said. “It just feels very much like it’s coming home.”