Coincidence is that sly woman whose timing is so very unnervingly perfect.<\/p>\n
Like, for example, one finishing up Ron Chernow\u2019s fantastic biography of Mark Twain \u2014 at more than 1,000 pages, a tome in every sense of the word \u2014 at the beginning of the week and \u201cThe Book of Mormon\u201d rolling into Bass Hall at the end of the week.<\/p>\n
My cup runneth over in satire, my favorite literary device, the gift that has kept on giving since at least ancient Greece. It knows no sacred cows. It does not discriminate. And it hits harder than Mike Tyson ever dreamed.<\/p>\n
Whether revealing the absurdity of politics, the hypocrisy of social norms, or the vanity of human nature, satire keeps delivering time and again.<\/p>\n
Once observing a disconnect between people using religion as moral cover while acting immorally \u2014 especially leaders of religious institutions \u2014 Twain once famously said: \u201cIf Christ were here now, there is one thing he would not be \u2014 a Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n
Religion, doctors, and public figures were all subjected to the whip of Twain\u2019s spirited pen at some point. Had he not died just as Ford\u2019s mass assembly operation began to gain full steam, the mechanic would have gotten it, make no mistake about it.<\/p>\n
But satire done well is great writing. And it\u2019s also entertaining as hell.<\/p>\n
If Twain were here today, he\u2019d likely greet \u201cThe Book of Mormon\u201d musical with a wicked grin, a standing ovation, and choruses of \u201cbravo.\u201d He\u2019d get a kick out of it, much like everybody else has over the past 15 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Book of Mormon\u201d is back in Fort Worth at Bass Hall for the weekend \u2014 Friday through Sunday. There are limited seats available. Bass Hall is also conducting a digital lottery, which will begin accepting entries the day before each performance from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Fans who have been selected will be notified daily via email and can then purchase up to two tickets at $25 each. Go here to put your name in the hat.<\/p>\n
Since opening in 2011, \u201cThe Book of Mormon\u201d has become one of the most successful shows in Broadway history, breaking the Eugene O\u2019Neill Theatre house record more than 50 times.<\/p>\n
In addition to nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Grammy for Best Musical Theatre Album, \u201cThe Book of Mormon\u201d earned five Drama Desk Awards (including Best Musical), the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical, the Drama League Award for Best Musical, and four Outer Critics Circle Awards, also including Best Musical.<\/p>\n
The tour is directed and choreographed by Jennifer Werner, based on the original Broadway direction and choreography.<\/p>\n
The work is the genius of writers Trey Parker and Matt Stone \u2014 the creators of the high temple of irreverence, \u201cSouth Park\u201d \u2014 and Robert Lopez.<\/p>\n
They lampoon not only religion and blind doctrinal acceptance, but also colonialism and the concept of American exceptionalism in the missionaries\u2019 belief that they are bringing salvation to the \u201clost\u201d people of Uganda. It exposes the arrogance of a colonial-era mind-set in assuming Western values just simply naturally improve the lives of others.<\/p>\n
I saw \u201cThe Book of Mormon” a few years ago. I was the beneficiary of the ticket that a friend didn\u2019t use. He won\u2019t admit it, but I think he was uncomfortable with the subject matter. And that\u2019s a worthwhile consideration, particularly if you don’t understand satire.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Book of Mormon\u201d walks a fine line as it concerns poking fun at an American minority. Even though it\u2019s equal-opportunity satire, the musical does target the beliefs of a specific religious minority with a difficult American history that has been largely forgotten. The Mormons were in Missouri before finding Utah. Missouri is no sanctuary for anybody, but it was there that the Mormons confronted what turned out to be one of the darkest episodes of persecution in American history. That knowledge might make some feel as if the writers are punching down, even if what they\u2019re actually doing is throwing punches at a number of targets.<\/p>\n
The best art, however, will make you uncomfortable at times. Twain himself believed that satire should make the comfortable uneasy and the uneasy feel seen. \u201cThe Book of Mormon\u201d does both of those things.<\/p>\n
We’re supposed to be having fun, no? Plus, I don\u2019t think the Mormons give a damn. This thing is hysterical.<\/p>\n
Oh, and something else to keep on your calendar: \u201cA Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical\u201d is coming for a run in October and November.<\/p>\n
More opportunity for satire. That\u2019s the way Mark Twain woulda done it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coincidence is that sly woman whose timing is so very unnervingly perfect. Like, for example, one finishing up…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":128776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,18602,78612,19607,7371,78614,7372,13814,78613,3298,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-128775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-america","tag-bass-hall","tag-book-of-mormon","tag-broadway","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-arts","tag-fortworth","tag-john-henry","tag-mark-twain","tag-satire","tag-texas","tag-top-story","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114992622440749698","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}