Now the twisted minds behind "South Park" are daring to cross another line: They're goofing on the Mormon church in a big, brassy Broadway musical that has become the hit of the season. "That is sacred," said Parker, looking suitably chastised during an interview in a Times Square restaurant after being reminded that he and Stone once dared to call Clooney smug. They even have had the boldness to make fun of George Clooney.
NEW YORK - For years, Trey Parker and Matt Stone have lampooned everything, from Scientology to Tiger Woods, Prius drivers to Islam, Britney Spears to the great state of New Jersey. I would assume the press reports about it so far are accurate.Matt Stone, left, and Trey Parker, co-creators of the hit Broadway musical "The Book of Mormon," outside the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York. That said, Adcock has no plans to see a performance himself: "From what I've heard I don't think I would.
In some ways it's an opportunity to correct misinformation." We're not standing outside the theatre with placards. Nonetheless, Adcock said, the church was not actively protesting against it: "One of the key tenets of our faith is that we respect freedom of choice and, in this case I suppose, creative freedom.
The Mormons' US website carries an official response to the musical, noting – perhaps unnecessarily – that it is not endorsed by the church and "is full of profanity and extremely vulgar content". The campaign has been launched along with a new website for the British church, which includes a long FAQ section explaining beliefs on everything from adherents' shunning of alcohol, tea and coffee, to the faith's tradition of missionary work and views on active homosexuality, which Mormons see as immoral. Polygamy was abandoned by the church in 1890. He added: "There are a lot of other stereotypes and myths. In fact Smith's publication goes "hand in hand with the Bible" rather than being a replacement for it. That's played a major role in the timing but it's an opportunity for people to hear the story direct from individual Mormons."Īmong the myths are claims that Mormons are not Christians, he said.
He said: "It's not just a response to the play. Malcolm Adcock, the spokesman for the Mormon faith in Britain, which has 180,000 members, said the intention was to "bust some myths and counter some stereotypes" about the church. It decided on a UK equivalent after seeing web searches connected to Mormonism more than double since September last year, a period during which Mitt Romney, a member of the church, took part in the US presidential election. The church ran similar campaigns in the US to coincide with The Book of Mormon, named after the text sacred to the faith, published in 1830 by its founder, Joseph Smith. The promotional push will result in advertisements using the slogan "I'm a Mormon" emblazoned across 250 buses in London, with poster space also bought at 10 tube stations including Charing Cross mainline station, a short walk fromthe West End theatre where the show, which won multiple awards on Broadway, opened last month. The UK arm of what is officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has responded to the arrival in London of The Book of Mormon, the critically lauded and deliberately offensive work by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, with an advertising campaign of its own seeking to dispel what the church views as commonplace myths about its adherents' beliefs and lifestyles. Britain's Mormons, it seems, are made of sterner stuff. Followers of some faiths, when faced by a bestselling musical devoted to the ribald mockery of their most sacred beliefs, would write stern letters to newspapers or even picket the theatre.