South Park finds religion
Hit musical pokes gentle fun at Mormonism.
The Book of Mormon
Tuesday to Sunday | Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Tickets: From $35 at ticketmaster.ca
Few people probably expected the first musical from a team better known for wisecracking animated paper cut-outs to be good, never mind a hit.
But The Book of Mormon — the first stage musical from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone — has surprised Broadway watchers and pop culture pundits alike by becoming a runaway hit still packing houses four years after its March 2011, stage debut.
The musical brought home no fewer than nine Tony Awards and several other accolades, including the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. The original Broadway cast recording became the highestcharting Broadway cast album in over four decades. And now the first national touring company is bringing the hit musical to Vancouver.
The plot concerns two Mormons sent to Uganda to convert the locals. As one would imagine, a clash of cultures ensues, set to musical numbers that lovingly parody classic Broadway-style show tunes (growing up in Colorado, Parker was actually a theatre kid). In the production currently touring Canada, Alexandra Ncube plays Nabulungi, daughter of the tribal chieftain.
Raised in Arizona, the actress has been with the Book of Mormon touring company since 2014. Growing up, she had some experience with Mormons, including an acting gig in a Mormon family-run haunted house.
“I had questions (about Mormonism) and they were happy to answer them,” she said. “But it was more about theatre and the haunted house.”
She had a number of parts in the haunted house, though she recalls they were all quite a workout for her lungs.
“A lot of the scenes had to do with a lot of screaming. You’re kind of like a broken record. You have a small scene and you do it over and over. It was really fun to scare everybody but my voice hurt after a while.
“In one of my scenes, I had to be taken out of the driver’s-side window of a van and be killed by a werewolf on stilts. And that meant screaming over and over for three hours.”
Ncube followed that gig with regional theatre in Arizona and roles in musicals like Avenue Q, Tommy, Little Shop of Horrors and more. She likes plays, she says, but she’s “definitely trended towards” musicals.
In The Book of Mormon, Nabulungi has a solo song, Sal Tlay Ka Siti, and a duet, Baptize Me. In true Parker/Stone fashion — they wrote the songs with Robert Lopez, who co-wrote music and lyrics for the Sesame Street send-up Avenue Q — the songs are recognizable parodies of typical Broadway musical numbers. Ncube says the former is similar to Somewhere That’s Green from Little Shop of Horrors.
“She wants a better quality of life for herself and her family,” Ncube said. “And then these Mormon boys come and tell her about Salt Lake City. It’s her ‘I want’ type of song.”
The duet is called Baptize Me, which she sings with Elder Cunningham, one of the Mormons who’s come to Uganda.
“It’s a very cute song,” she said. It’s cute, but also suggestive, as the rest of the lyrics encourage the listener to think of an expletive to take the place of “baptize.”
Despite mocking Mormonism, the production has run into little controversy. The satire is mostly gentle, though some might take it otherwise.
“I wasn’t worried,” Ncube said. “I really trust in the material. South Park has been around for a long time, and Avenue Q was so successful as well. The music is so well-written so I trusted the script was, as well. While there are offensive moments, it all has a purpose — every line, every joke, every sentiment has a purpose, and ties into preceding scenes. And everything comes full circle in the end.”
Ncube was raised Catholic, but doesn’t practise religion anymore, “for personal reasons.” The musical, she says, didn’t make her think about religion in a new or different way.
“It definitely explains its own purpose of religion. But that’s for everyone to find out.”
The 24-year-old actor realizes how fortunate she is to be appearing in a musical that is essentially bulletproof — loved by audiences and critics alike.
“I’m filled with gratitude every day,” she said.
“Touring has its challenges, but we get to perform this amazing piece of art that has been renowned internationally. We are so happy to be here.”