The Book of Mormon, by Matt Stone and Trey Parker

[scottie]

Kind of funny...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion...-salt.html.csp

[RobinFinderson]

HERE is some fresh ink from the New York Times on the Book of Mormon musical.

Some selected quotes:

Growing up in Colorado, the “South Park” creators frequently encountered Mormons, including Mr. Parker’s first serious girlfriend. (“I remember going to family home evening at her house,” he said, “and just being like, ‘What are you people doing?’ But in a good way.”)

Mr. Parker and Mr. Stone made it clear they did not believe in Mormonism or any other organized religion either. (“In a way,” Mr. Parker said, “ ‘Star Wars’ was our religion, and Spider-Man’s a religion. That affected our lives way more than Jesus, but they were still stories.”)

But having found that his Mormon neighbors were always good members of the community, Mr. Stone said, he had to wonder: “Do goofy stories make people nice? What if, in their goofiness, these stories somehow inspire that in the right way. Is that a social good?”

Mr. Parker, who counts himself as a fan of shows like “Wicked” and “Jersey Boys,” said, “We wanted to make this not just cynical and Mormon bashing, but hopeful and happy, because to me that’s what musicals are about.” (And not, he added, like “Next to Normal,” which “made me want to kill myself.”)

[MarkGrace]

I read a pretty good piece on this over at Slate and was actually kind of impressed by Stone and Parker's outlook. They make plenty of fun of religion, but in a strange way also admire the positive impact it can have on people's lives. One of them said, "I'm an atheist who really appreciates organzied religion." (paraphrased). Which is funny because I feel like I'm the opposite.

[Eddie]

The Sound of Music is about Catholics?

Oh yeah, Julie Andrews starts as a nun! Sorry, took me a minute.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I've been meaning to post this since I saw it on The Daily Show a few nights ago. Jon Stewart interviews the musical's (and South Park's) creators and it's interesting. Stewart gushes in praise of the musical. From everything I've read and heard about the musical, I'm coming to the following conclusions: (i) while it mentions things about the Church one might find embarrassing, the musical isn't a vicious attack on Mormonism: (ii) Mormons, especially missionaries, come off as well-intentioned but extremely naive dorks, and (iii) the musical will fairly accurately reflect what the world thinks about us, for better and worse, so it ought to be instructive for us. I think I want to see it.

[Shaka]

I've been meaning to post this since I saw it on The Daily Show a few nights ago. Jon Stewart interviews the musical's (and South Park's) creators and it's interesting. Stewart gushes in praise of the musical. From everything I've read and heard about the musical, I'm coming to the following conclusions: (i) while it mentions things about the Church one might find embarrassing, the musical isn't a vicious attack on Mormonism: (ii) Mormons, especially missionaries, come off as well-intentioned but extremely naive dorks, and (iii) the musical will fairly accurately reflect what the world thinks about us, for better and worse, so it ought to be instructive for us. I think I want to see it.

I've always been a fan of the South Park type satire. I want to see this production as well.

[PaloAltoCougar]

The Book of Mormon is apparently going to be a smash hit on Broadway. The reviews, including this one from the New York Times, seem to be nearly unanimous in their praise. It also seems like the LDS Church fares about as well as one could possibly hope for in a Stone/Parker production. And it's an odd coincidence that I'm sending my own son to fight the good fight in NYC while this is going on.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I can't wait to see it.

[Levin]

Just got my tickets -- May 17 (our wedding anniversary; I hope my wife likes the gift)

If you haven't already, go watch the Charlie Rose interview with Matt and Trey.

If you plan on seeing this within the next year, you should get your tickets. I read that the tickets are selling through the roof now that the reviews have come in and that they expect the next twelve months of performances to be sold out soon.

[MarkGrace]

Some connected with the production have been monitoring the reaction of the Mormons, but so far, the church has put out one bland statement, and some Mormons who have seen the show told reporters they were pleasantly surprised. At least it doesn’t dwell on polygamy, they said, and its ribald humor seems braced by traditional values and affection for the Mormon characters.

In the end, the message is not against Mormonism but literalism: that whatever our different myths, metaphors and rituals, the real purpose of religion is to give us a higher purpose and a sense of compassion in the universe.

“The moral,” the writer Andrew Sullivan observed on opening night, “is that religion is both insane and necessary at the same time.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/op...dowd.html?_r=2

[myboynoah]

In the end, the message is not against Mormonism but literalism: that whatever our different myths, metaphors and rituals, the real purpose of religion is to give us a higher purpose and a sense of compassion in the universe.

“The moral,” the writer Andrew Sullivan observed on opening night, “is that religion is both insane and necessary at the same time.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/op...dowd.html?_r=2

And no religion is more insane and necessary than Mormonism.

[RobinFinderson]

THIS article is currently the front page article at www.NYT.com, and John Dehlin's name is mentioned in the splash below the header photo. This may be the first time ever that a member of the board is mentioned by name on the font page of The New York Times. Cool, eh?

[PaloAltoCougar]

THIS article is currently the front page article at www.NYT.com, and John Dehlin's name is mentioned in the splash below the header photo. This may be the first time ever that a member of the board is mentioned by name on the font page of The New York Times. Cool, eh?

Interestingly, there's a CUF member, and a CB/CG member (we've tried to get him here to CUF) mentioned.

[Commando]

HMM. who is John dehlin?

[Jeff Lebowski]

THIS article is currently the front page article at www.NYT.com, and John Dehlin's name is mentioned in the splash below the header photo. This may be the first time ever that a member of the board is mentioned by name on the font page of The New York Times. Cool, eh?

Does John Dehlin have an account here? I don't recall him ever posting on CUF.