Book of Mormon holds revelations of risque fun

Is it more appropriate to marvel that The Book of Mormon, the celebrated Tony-winner from 2011, has finally arrived in Arkansas in 2019 or that it slipped past the Bible Belt and made it here at all?

Then again, an expletive-laced Broadway musical by notorious South Park satirists Trey Parker and Matt Stone with Robert Lopez, of Avenue Q and Frozen fame, is an improbable thing in itself. Even more improbable: a musical that features two exuberant Mormon missionaries on a soul-saving trip to Uganda.

The touring company serving the show to Wednesday night’s capacity crowd at Robinson Center Music Hall (under the flag of Celebrity Attractions) presented a performance that never flagged in enthusiasm or lacked polish.

As a result, the musical maintained its ability to shock (vulgar jokes such as the name of a warlord are still as jaw-dropping after eight years), but wasn’t just a rude middle finger to the religion of Brigham Young. Instead, it’s something a lot more surprising — a genuine vehicle for old-fashioned (you could even say conservative) Great White Way values of character revealed through dazzling song and dance.

At its heart is the bromance between Elder Price (Robert Colvin), who believes he is destined to do something great for the church and that it will likely be in his city of dreams, Orlando, Fla., and Elder Cunningham (Conner Peirson), a spastic nerd who is happy to follow as long as he can finally have a friend. Their dream of converting an African village meets the hard reality of the villagers fighting off a warlord intent on circumcising females and suffering from the ravages of AIDS.

None of this should work, and yet practically all of it does. “Turn It Off,” a song about suppression of ungodly feelings, is an infectious, show-stopping tap dance number. “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream” lets Genghis Khan and Johnnie Cochran trip the light fantastic with twirling Starbucks cups. Colvin and Peirson are stunning — actors who fully inhabit their distinct characters while belting out song after song.

The Book of Mormon is back on the stage at 7:30 p.m. today and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday at Robinson, 426 W. Markham St. at Broadway, Little Rock. Ticket information is available by calling (501) 244-8800 or (800) 9822787 (ARTS) or online at Ticketmaster.com. There’s a pre-show lottery each performance for a limited number of $25 tickets.