Life of a Mormon

[Kyanna Sturm]

Tuesday, February 5th in the heart of Minneapolis at the Orpheum, The Book of Mormon treated the audience to an exciting and laughter filled show. Written by the authors of South Park, the Book of Mormon has won nine Tony awards and has created quite the reputation.The writing is excellent and witty. The Book of Mormon presented a laugh out loud production that enhanced the energy among the audience. Our main characters, Elder Price and Elder Cunningham go on a two year journey to a small, war torn, tribe in Uganda to spread Mormonism. With the mix of cultures, misconceptions and desire to spread Mormonism the story line is filled with reoccurring comedic moments. This show utilizes inappropriate satire and molds it into an enjoyable piece, inappropriate at large but smart. 

Many audience members, Including my neighbor, came because they loved the music. People came from all over to come and see this previously critically acclaimed show. Would I agree? Yes. The music was good, it made me laugh (more than enough) but my humor was removed when it came to publication or media references . Many humorous sections related to things that did not resonate with me the same as it did for the individuals in their 20’s or older. Most of the humor I chuckled at, derived from the many of the characters personalities. I was fond of the nerdy, compulsive liar, Elder Price played by Mark Evans.The opening number does an irresistible job at setting up our characters.  

The set began simplistic, with the heavens shining bright on a large drop with a churchy stain glass border. Over time the simplistic set became intricate and descriptive just like our story and characters. The Ugandan village was beautiful set piece that reflected importance through quality. The stage consisted of huts, a bridge like smaller stage and green grasses. 

I felt a little out of age for many of the references but there was plenty of other humor that I caught onto. The cast was full of talent. Every one of them could sing, act and most of all I believed them. There was not a moment where I lost the life of the mormon.

[Erica Solomon]

Strong first paragraph. I particularly like your comment, "This show utilizes inappropriate satire and molds it into an enjoyable piece, inappropriate at large but smart." Grammatically, make sure your sentences and paragraphs don't get too repetitive with words. For example, when you use "Book of Mormon" three times very close to the beginning of the first paragraph, and when you say "People came from all over to come and see..." Try reading your paragraphs out loud to yourself to make sure that the wording doesn't sound awkward. 

[Dudley Voigt]

I really like your first paragraph.  You do a good job of summarizing the plot and providing context on the writers, the production and the fact that it is a satirical piece.  

Quibble: Elder Cunningham is the nerdy compulsive liar, not Elder Price. 

Interesting observations about the sets and how the evolved during the show.  I hadn't noticed that.