From “South Park” to “Orgazmo” to “Team America: World Police,” few entertainment minds have brilliantly walked the line of raunchy lowbrow humor and highbrow social commentary better than Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
Their most incredible feat just might have been winning nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, for mixing poop jokes and religious freedom in “The Book of Mormon,” which hits the National Theatre in D.C. from March 5-17.
“It definitely is sort of ridiculous for them to have found so much success on the Broadway stage, but at the same time, it makes so much sense,” actor Sam McLellan told WTOP.
“Their comedy, while it can feel very lowbrow at moments, it’s actually very intelligent. They come from a perspective that’s very mature and understanding of cultural hot-button issues. They know how to toe the line — and cross it when necessary to make a point.”
McLellan plays self-centered Mormon missionary Elder Price, who leaves Utah with his fibbing sidekick Elder Cunningham (Sam Nackman) on a mission trip to Uganda to win converts to the religion of Joseph Smith.
There’s one problem: The deeply impoverished natives doubt God’s existence. When the idealistic Nabulungi (Berlande) dreams of moving to Sal Tlay Ka Siti (Salt Lake City), the missionaries finally have a chance to spread the word.
“The show is about a pair of mismatched missionaries, one of them super serious and dedicated, the other is really socially awkward but well meaning,” McLellan said.
“My Elder Cunningham is Sam Nackman. The dude is awesome. He’s so funny, he fits the role so perfectly. … When I met him, I was like, ‘This dude is real-life Elder Cunningham,’ but in the best way possible. He’s ridiculous, he’s hilarious, he just oozes comedy in every ounce of his being.”
After writing musical numbers for “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” (1999), Parker and Stone teamed with Oscar-winning songwriter Robert Lopez (“Frozen”) for a Tony-winning songbook that includes clever word plays (“Tomorrow is a Latter Day”), hilarious analogies (“Baptize Me” which equates baptism with losing one’s virginity) and dream sequences (“Spooky Mormon Hell” which weaves our deepest fears of Hitler, Genghis Khan and Jeffrey Dahmer).
“Numbers that really are huge for me are ‘You and Me (But Mostly Me)’ and ‘I Believe.’ Those numbers are not only funny as touted, they are just really masterclass songs,” McLellan said.
“Bobby Lopez is a genius on those keys. He writes some of the most interesting and hilarious music that is an homage to some musical theater songs that people know really well. He balances spoofing classical musical theater as well as making it very unique.”
We won’t spoil the meaning of the “Hakuna Matata” spoof “Hasa Diga Eebowai,” but let’s just say it all builds to a jaw-dropping “play within a play.”
While “The King & I” saw the people of Siam stage a performance of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” “The Book of Mormon” has the Ugandan people stage a warped, alternate take on The Book of Mormon.
“It’s hilarious, it’s ridiculous, people scream, people laugh, people cry,” McLellan said.
“I get messages from people all the time after seeing the show just being like, ‘My cheeks hurt. I haven’t laughed that hard since I was a kid.’ It really is so funny. … There’s so many layers to the comedy of the production that aren’t even revealed until you’ve seen the show multiple times. It’s so dense, it’s so hilarious, every moment there’s something funny happening.”
Listen to our full conversation here.
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