Dave and I were looking forward to see The Book of Mormon musical for a while. Finally, The Book of Mormon musical arrived at the Opera House of the Kennedy Center in DC. Dave bought the tickets in advance for the first row of the balcony.
This is a picture of The Book of Mormon Proscenium (the stage opening) and Scrim (special effect theater curtains). I was wondering what they exactly mean, and I found the explanation from the playbill.com site: “The Proscenium, which is inspired by contemporary Mormon temples and other religious architecture, is filled with illuminated stained glass windows that transform in color throughout the evening, and is topped by the gilded (and rotating!) statue of the Angel Moroni. This frames our entire evening, attributing an important pageant-like quality to the story. The Show Scrim and the architectural panels installed above each of the audience boxes are inspired by galactic views of the universe, combined with an inspirational greeting-card-style sunrise to create an imagined vision of Mormon heaven.”
The Book of Mormon, the smash-hit Broadway musical by the creators of South Park, has won high praise from US critics as well as an incredible nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The Book of Mormon is written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone (South Park), and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q). Parker and Stone have worked on Mormon for seven years now and it shows. Matt and Trey may poke fun at everything from politics to religion, but they’ve never shown contempt for their audience. They always look to entertain their fans first and foremost.
This comedy musical follows the plight of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naïve and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share the Book of Mormon, one of their scriptures – which only one of them knows very well – but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are more worried about war, famine, poverty and AIDS than about religion.
Dave and I definitely enjoyed the show, especially its second act after the intermission. Some scenes and songs were really entertaining and funny, especially the scene with the devil and songs like “Hello!,” “Two By Two,” and “Hasa Diga Eebowai”, but, overall, we don’t think that the show was hilarious. Perhaps, we just expected it to be funnier.
This is a partial view of the gorgeous Opera House chandelier. We like to visit the beautiful Kennedy Center, especially The Opera house, which is very pretty and comfortable.
Since photography during the show is strictly prohibited, here are some pictures of the Kennedy Center. There was VSA (Very Special Arts) exhibition: In/finite Earth with Sarah Langsam 1st prise exhibit “Rings on Rings on Rings” made from wood, epoxy resin and fiberglass (in the middle of the picture). In/finite Earth is the 12th exhibition in VSA and Volkswagen Group of America’s annual Emerging Young Artists Program.
Here is the John F. Kennedy’s bust in the main hall, where the entrances to the theaters are located.
I am glad that we came early, so we had a chance to relax on the terrace and enjoy the surrounding views on this beautiful summer day.
The view of Georgetown from the terrace.
