“The Book of Mormon” is both the darling — and the bad boy — of Broadway. And outside of New York, Denver audiences get to see it first.
The national touring production of the acclaimed and snickeringly funny musical will launch at Denver’s Buell Theatre in December 2012, it was announced Thursday.
Co-writers Trey Parker and Matt Stone grew up in Colorado, the inspiration for their four-time Emmy- winning animated series, “South Park” on Comedy Central.
“The Book of Mormon” is a wide- eyed and sweet story that addresses religion and hypocrisy in all its forms. It follows a pair of mismatched Mormon boys sent on a mission to a place that’s about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get.
The musical has earned rhapsodic reviews from New York critics and 14 Tony Award nominations, one shy of the record set by “The Producers.” The awards will be announced June 12.
“It’s just been a crazy ride,” Parker said from New York. “The fact that we’re getting the chance to start where we grew up is an incredible bonus and very humbling.”
Parker, who attended Evergreen High School, and Stone, who went to Heritage High School, are both graduates of the University of Colorado.
“For us, it will be a cool homecoming,” Stone said. “We have to spend some time putting (the touring production) together next year, and I am really happy that we’re going to be spending that time in Denver and not some random city we don’t know.”
Exact dates of the Denver stop, and its length of run here, were not announced. No other cities for the tour have been finalized.
” ‘The Book of Mormon’ has reinvented Broadway,” said Denver Center for the Performing Arts president Randy Weeks. “It’s fantastic that the folks in Colorado will have the first opportunity to see the tour.”
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com