Book of Mormon Delivers Laughs and Parody That Burns (Broadway in Louisville)

The Book of Mormon

Written by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone

Directed by Jennifer Werner

Review by Loraine Lawson

Entire contents are copyright © 2026 Loraine Lawson. All rights reserved.

The Book of Mormon delivered something to offend and amuse almost everyone last night during its first night at the Kentucky Center of the Arts.

That shouldn’t surprise fans of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park. The production has been criticized as blasphemous by the right and as ”cultural colonialism of the most insidious kind” on the left.

So, caveat emptor.

That said, from the opening number of this PNC Broadway Louisville production, “Hello,” to its finale delivered to a standing ovation, The Book of Mormon delighted last night’s audience with clever lyrics, great vocals and hilarious dance numbers.

Befitting a Broadway production, the sets were clever and on-point, starting with the cathedral inspired frame with mock stained glass windows topped by an angel holding a bugle to the moveable Uganda village set.

The musical follows the antics of Elder Price, played by Ethan Davenport, and Elder Cunningham, played by Jacob Aune, two young men with the Church of Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ. It begins with "Hello," which features a cohort of young men practicing for their missionary work by ringing doorbells and singing their pitch.

Both Davenport and Aune delivered in song, dance and laughs. Aune’s performance in particular gives Jonas Hill in Superbad vibes during the 2 hour and 35 minute production: Innocent, insecure and deeply misguided. Davenport’s character is also hilarious, but for different reasons: He’s over-confident that he’s destined for greatness in the world of Mormon missionaries.

When our young heroes are ready for assignment, Elder Price’s greatest prayer is that he’ll be assigned to Orlando, which he remembers from a childhood visit as a happy paradise. Elder Cunningham’s greatest prayer is that he’ll be assigned with the rising star Elder Price and finally have a best friend.

Elder Cunningham gets his wish; Elder Price decidedly does not. Instead, they learn they’re headed to Uganda, much to Elder Price’s chagrin. But they resolve to make the best of it, deciding it will still be a wonderful adventure.

They’re not wrong: As soon as they land, their luggage is stolen by a war lord’s armed men, played by Isiah Bostic, Adeleke Goring and Noah A. Jackson.

After the robbery, they meet their guide Mafala Hatimbi, played by Jarius Miquel Cliett. Mafala tells them there’s no sense calling the police, who are two days away anyway. He and the village admonish the boys to shrug off worries by singing, “Hasa Diga Eebowai.”

Both missionaries embraces the words with enthusiasm because they assume it means something similar to The Lion King’s Hakuna Matata, aka “no worries.”

But this is parody. When Elder Price finally asks Mafala what the phrase means, Mafal translates it as “eff you, God.” (The phrase is actually made up gibberish.)

“I said it, like, 14 times!” cries Elder Cunningham once he learns it’s a blasphemy.

The missionaries then meet the team of Mormons stationed in Uganda. They’re dismayed to learn that so far, there have been zero converts. Elder Price begins to have doubts about the mission, but the other Mormons assume he’s having a different kind of doubt, leading to a song and dance routine, “Turn It Off.”

This may have been my favorite scene, in part because of the upbeat tap dance routine and the sparkling vests the Mormons don as they urge Elders Price and Cunningham to “turn off” any doubts or bad emotions they might have:

“It's a cool little Mormon trick

We do it all the time

When you're feeling certain feelings

That just don't seem right

Treat those pesky feelings like a reading light

And turn em off like a light switch

Just go bap

Really what's so hard about that?”

Instilled with new confidence in his own exceptionalism and and the Mormon mission, Elder Price resolves that he can convert the Ugandans.

A rousing song and dance, "The All-America Profit," follows where the missionaries share the story of how Joseph Smith found God’s golden plates of text buried in his backyard and then fled with the Mormons to the west.

But two unexpected things happen immediately: The Ugandans reject their message and a war lord named General Butt F**king Naked, played with menace by Shafiq Hicks, shows up to the village and immediately shoots a man in front of Elders Price and Cunningham.

Elder Price, covered in blood splatter, freaks out at and decides to transfer out of Uganda. He tells Elder Price they’re not best friends and storms off.

Meanwhile, Muffalo’s daughter, Nabulungi, thinks perhaps the Mormons might have an answer to the village’s problem with the General, who wants to mutilate the women’s genitals, by taking them to this paradise called Salt Lake City.

Nabulungi is played by Charity Arianna, whose beautiful vocals impress, particularly on her solo, "Sal Tlay Ka Siti (Salt Lake City)." There’s a subtle chemistry between her and Elder Price, which develops during the suggestive double entendres number, “Baptize Me.”

She urges Elder Cunningham — who has never actually read The Book of Mormon — to preach to the villagers. He delivers a “retelling” of the Book of Mormon that invokes the Death Star, Ewoks, Mordor and Star Trek. The villagers decide to convert.

Meanwhile, Elder Price falls asleep on the road and has the “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream.” This rousing song features the devil, demons, skeletons and historically evil figures such as Hitler and Ghengis Khan dancing and singing about hell.

This scene harbored my only issue with the production in that there was a short sound problem that garbled Satan’s opening words. It did not impact the actual song, however.

The song previously included a Jeffrey Dahmer character, but this version was updated by Parker, Stone and Lopez for the 15th anniversary to include Jeffrey Epstein. At one point, Epstein reveals he did “things with Trump.” Judging from the yells, laughter and applause, audiences were delighted by the change.

Elder Price learns that Elder Cunningham has had success with the villagers and is embolden by Cunningham’s faith to confront the General. I’ll just say, this does not go well.

He learns that the Mormon upper echelon is coming to give Elder Cunningham an award for his success converting the villagers. Elder Cunningham convinces him to put their differences aside and stand by him in order to secure a transfer to Orlando.

But it all comes to a head when the villagers put on a play based on Elder Cunningham’s inaccurate retelling of Joseph Smith and the early Mormons, complete with Star Wars references.

Obviously, the Mormon leaders are not pleased and move to shut down the Uganda office immediately.

Elder Cunningham breaks the news to Nabulungi, who is embarrassed and disheartened as she tells the villagers that they will not be going to Salt Lake City. To her surprise, the villagers laugh and say they always knew Salt Lake City was a metaphor.

In the final reprise of “Hello,” the villagers, Elder Cunningham and even the General are seen in white shirts with black ties, ringing doorbells. But instead of the Book of Mormon, they hold up the Book of Arthur, which, one assumes, is based on Elder Cunningham’s stories.

While this musical definitely isn’t for everyone, the cast’s performance, the songs and the dance numbers are fabulously fun.

The Book of Mormon PNC Broadway in Louisville May 5-10 2026

Kentucky Performing Arts

501 W. Main St.

Louisville, KY 40202

502.584.7777

www.KentuckyPerformingArts.org