Going to the theatre is an act of one’s own free will. I assume that most people know the basic idea of the plays or musicals they plan to go see, so therefore, I believe that if people do not agree with the subject matter of a play, or movie, or musical, they should simply not attend. The Book of Mormon is without a doubt, a controversial musical. The songs from the musical can be taken as either offensive, political, or comedic. For example, “Hasa Diga Eebowai” uses language that is usually frowned upon by the public, but it is meant to shed light on the hardships that many Ugandans face while being humorous. Ultimately, the play was written to be hysterical. Theatre is a form of artistic expression. That being said, I do not believe that there is such a thing as appropriate or inappropriate subject matter on the stage. Mormonism is a controversial religion to begin with, and it is not the only religion that has been the focus of any artistic piece; whether satiric or not. The Book of Mormon discusses many other topics such as homosexuality, spousal abuse, and cancer. Though the topics presented in the musical are racy, they do raise many questions about Mormonism and their beliefs on certain subject matter. As the creators of the musical stated in their interview, they wanted to push social boundaries. Their musical definitely pushes boundaries to a whole new extreme that has never been done before. Not only is the Book of Mormon entertaining, it is also educational. The musical teaches about Mormon beliefs, while also making light of a religion that many people consider to be overly extreme. What I have seen of the musical definitely raised ethical questions, but when going to any play or musical it is important to know what you’re seeing because if it upsets you, avoid it.
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