VENUE LISTING
Prince of Wales Theatre |
| Address | 31 Coventry Street London W1D 6AS |
| Telephone | 0844 482 5115 |
| Station | Piccadilly Circus (LT) |
| Description | Opened as The Princes Theatre in 1884, current name from 1886. Non-stop revue during the 30s. Re-built 1937 and re-opened as a theatre. 1122 seats. Member of the Society of London Theatre. The Prince of Wales is owned and managed by Delfont Mackintosh Theatres Limited who have undertaken the ?7.5 million refurbishment programme. |
WHAT'S ON
Dates: Opens 21 March 2013. Mon-Sat 19:30. Mar13 21 at 19;00. Wed,Sat Mats 14:30 Prices: £37.50 to £67.50 Cast & Creative Team
The hotly anticipated West End transfer of Tony Award-winning musical The Book of Mormon opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre last night (21 March 2013, previews from 25 February). Written by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, with Avenue Q co-creator Robert Lopez, the show follows a pair of Mormon boys sent on a mission to a place that's a long way from Salt Lake City. Directed by Parker and Casey Nicholaw, The Book of Mormon stars Gavin Creel and Jared Gertner (pictured) as Elder Price and Elder Cunningham, alongside Alexia Khadime, Giles Terera, Chris Jarman and Stephen Ashfield.
Theo Bosanquet Paul Taylor Michael Billington Strip away all the hype surrounding this hit Broadway import and what do you find? A mildly amusing musical, with some knowingly parodic songs, that takes a few pot shots at religious credulity without ever questioning the need for belief. I had a perfectly pleasant time, but the idea that the show, which won nine Tony awards, is either daringly offensive or a Broadway breakthrough is pure codswallop... That's not to say it doesn't have its pleasures… the show is efficiently directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, and offers a perfectly decent night out. What it lacks, though, is the courage of its own convictions… the biggest myth of all is that it's somehow a landmark American musical.  Charles Spencer Henry Hitchings - by Rosie Bannister Related Content
Date: 21 March 2013 Some shows generate buzz, and then there's The Book of Mormon. Riding into the West End on a juggernaut of hype and hysteria - even the Prime Minister's been spotted in previews - the big question is how can it possibly live up to expectations? Well, it does. Largely. And how refreshing it is to see a show on a West End stage that resonates so widely across the cultural spectrum - on the night I saw it (a preview rather than tonight's gala opening), the excitement and enthusiasm in the stalls was of a kind I've not experienced before. Like many great shows, Mormon (or should that be Mormnnn) was stuck in 'development hell' for several years before reaching the stage. The added time shows; there's very little wastage and creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker (in collaboration with Avenue Q composer Robert Lopez), who are used to turning around South Park episodes in a matter of days, have been given room to craft something with real artistic and musical weight. The plot centres on two young Mormon missionaries, Elders Price and Cunningham (Gavin Creel and Jared Gertner, pictured), who have the unenviable task of spreading the word of Joseph Smith Jr, sorry, Jesus, in Uganda. Naturally their Lion King fantasies prove rather wide of the mark, and they're soon faced with the realities of scorching heat, a rampant Aids epidemic and a filthily-monikered circumcising warlord (Chris Jarman). [WOS_QU@TE]#A cornucopia of comedy musical treats[/WOS_QU@TE] Without wishing to ruin the many surprises of the score, I can say that you're likely to be tickled by numbers including "Turn It Off", in which the Mormon missionaries describe how they deal with life's traumas, and "Baptize Me", where Elder Cunningham flirts with love interest Nabalungi (Alexia Khadime) using more double entendres than a Benny Hill sketch. But the real show-stopper is "I Believe", where Creel - almost unrecognisable from his last appearance in the West End as Claude in Hair - bursts into a ballad of soaring Disney-fied magnificence as he decides to heal the genocidal warlord's ways with a faith founded on the premise that ancient Israelites travelled to America. Not every number hits the mark - notably "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream", which is a derivation too far (not least of Parker and Stone's own work in the South Park movie) and adds little by way of narrative progression - but in the main this is a cornucopia of comedy musical treats. Creel and Gertner, who have been brought over for the West End opening from the US tour, seem unmatchable as the mismatched missionaries, giving performances of enormous energy, wit and technical skill. And they're ably supported by the British contingent, including Stephen Ashfield stealing many of the biggest laughs as the closeted Elder McKinley and Giles Terera as a hopeful-against-the-odds Ugandan villager. Co-director Casey Nicholaw's witty choreography matches the pin-sharp nature of the material, while designer Scott Pask serves up a slick and often humorously coarse series of settings. And the band (under musical director Nicolas Finlow) is one of the best you'll hear in a West End pit. It will be fascinating to read the range of responses to Mormon - my hunch is they will fall squarely into the love or hate camps (the latter largely influenced by the strength of the religious satire). But for me and my generation, reared on South Park and Team America, there is little here to genuinely shock, and laughs by the bucketload. If anything, by warm-heartedly embracing the medium of musical theatre, Parker and Stone have revealed a maturity and sensitivity lacking from their screen work. And I for one am delighted to welcome them to the fold. Related Content
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