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John Elway has plenty of fans. But two of them could soon rival Number 7 on the Colorado celebrity scale. When they met with the local press to discuss The Book of Mormon , creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone said that if there was anyone they wanted to see the show, it was John Elway.
Well, John Elway….and Mitt Romney, since it would be fascinating to see what the Republican presidential nominee would make of their take on Mormonism.
Parker, who wore a bright orange Broncos jersey during the sit-downs, said he’d sent a personal request and a free ticket offer for Elway to see the show during its current run in Denver, but hadn’t heard back. Even so, at the curtain call for Sunday’s opening night of Mormon at the Ellie, hometown hero Parker was right up there on stage, wearing a different Broncos jersey — this one dark blue.
No need to keep saving those sold-out seats, though: Turns out, Elway has already seen the show — on Broadway. And he gave it a rave when I asked him about it yesterday at the opening of the new patio at Elway’s Downtown. He also said he didn’t know the creators had been trying to reach him — or that they were big fans.
But how could they avoid it? Parker and Stone both grew up in metro Denver, where Elway has been an iconic figure for close to three decades. And images of Elway and the Broncos (as well as other Colorado institutions, such as Casa Bonita), regularly appear in South Park, their Comedy Central show, which is still going strong.
Score!
Does The Book of Mormon work as a musical? Read Juliet Wittman’s rave review, “The Book of Mormon really is that good.”
