Wednesday Wanderings: The Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota

This is not the typical Wednesday Wanderings post for me because I spent this evening at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis.  I got to finally watch The Book of Mormon!

When I think of 'broadway musicals', I imagine the bright city lights of New York, or the bustling streets of Chicago.  I have never thought of Minneapolis as a hub for musical debuts, so here are some interesting facts:

• Bob Dylan owned the Orpheum until 1988, and then sold it to the Minneapolis Community Development Agency for restoration
• Victor/Victoria and Disney’s The Lion King were both produced at the Orpheum and premiered there!  These famous "broadway musicals" are actually "Minneapolitan musicals" ;)

I'm too exhausted to do an actual review on The Book of Mormon, but I will say that it wasn't as offensive as I thought it would be.  Does this mean I'm jaded?  Or did I somehow develop a calloused sense of humor?  Well, Trey Parker and Matt Stone did work hard to offend everyone, so they covered all bases in terms of cracking the jokes on gender, race, religion... you name it.  Yes, there were some sharp jokes that I thought cut a little deep, but the writing is so witty that it ameliorates things with the silly repartee that followed.  In order to fully appreciate some of the more subtle humor, I recommend googling Mormonism to get a basic grasp of their beliefs (like how god lives on the planet Kolob, or how Mormons can't drink coffee or have caffeine).  For example, in the number about Mormon hell, there are dancers in giant coffee cup costumes that resemble Starbucks venti's... it's bizarre out-of-context as-is, but downright HILARIOUS when you get the Mormon references!  

I was curious to hear what the LDS Church thought of the musical.  Their response was GENIUS - they bought out advertising space in the Playbills with photos of Mormons and very simple text: 

Classy. Well played.