Click through for our ten best posts about the play.
10. Local boys made good South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone hail from Conifer and Littleton, respectively, which officially means we get to call them hometown heroes whenever they break another boundary. (This keeps happening.) In last year's Best of Denver issue, Westword named the duo Best Former Colorado People to Watch after they promised to offend everyone with their latest project.
9. Five things you need to know In honor of the musical's forthcoming trip to Denver, we crafted a brief (and sarcastic) guide to Mormonism. In the post, narrated by writer Jenn Wohletz, we touch on their friendly demeanor and devout beliefs -- in the unbelievable. For an even more in-depth look at the religion, check out this shallow guide by Pete Kotz.8. Tell us what you really think Some of Westword's best coverage (or at least the most insightful) has come from our commenters, who consistently write in to tell us what they think of Parker and Stone's latest success. Some drew offense from the play's inspiration (and the post on the list before this), telling us that other religions wouldn't be taken as lightly. Others took themselves less seriously and gave us advice on how to get tickets: through other people's romantic misfortunes.
Click through for more posts. 7. Tales of a ticket Let's be real for a second: Denver faces no shortage of entertainment options rotating through its theaters and stadiums on a regular basis. But only a rare and respected handful induce pandemonium at the box office. In this post, we chronicled the toughest tickets to get in recent history. Did The Book of Mormon make the list? (We'll give you a hint. It did.)6. Screen time More importantly, if you get bored of us telling you about the musical, you can listen to its creators talk about their experiences and intentions instead. In this post for our news blog, we grouped together clips of Stone and Parker talking religion and comedy (and the Denver Broncos) on 60 Minutes.
5. Behind the scenes Earlier this week, Westword had the opportunity to sit down with the show's creators and stars while they're in tech to prepare for their first touring stop in our fair city. We talked inspiration and discomfort, ticket frenzy and religious metaphors -- and came away with a list of the twenty reasons you really have to see the musical.Click through for more posts. 4. A brief history The Book of Mormon is not the only -- or even the largest -- chance its creators have taken, and it exists inside a considerable context of pop cultural controversy. To place it firmly inside that sphere, Westword looked back at Parker and Stone's past projects and their quotable, laugh-hardy impact on the arts.
3. Waiting for The Book of Mormon In case you guys haven't heard, tickets for the musical sold out a while ago -- really fast. Announced this week, a new lottery system will mean good news for 24 ticketless fans each night, but most people had to stake out their spots for the Denver run in person, online and over the phone (usually all three at once). In this slideshow, we covered the morning madness that was the original ticket release.2. The awards start to pile upIn May, the musical earned nominations for fourteen -- we repeat, fourteen -- Tony awards, of which it later brought home nine. This likely came as little surprise to anyone who has seen it, but created major waves in hometown pride. And the awards didn't stop there. Or even there.
Click through for more posts. 1. Giving praise Even after all the critical praise and national awards, The Book of Mormon's creators didn't get big heads. Instead, they thanked the big man -- Joseph Smith, the original word on Mormonism -- during the Tony awards, where they accepted the trophy for Best Musical. Parker gave a shout-out to, ""Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion. He couldn't be here tonight, but you did it Joseph. You got the Tony!"Follow @WestwordCulture
