Snagging a point-of-origin-Chicago production of the massive Broadway hit ? tickets in New York are pretty much sold out well into 2012, and tickets routinely re-sell for $500 or more ? represents a coup for Broadway in Chicago and, by extension, the administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, which has placed an early focus on using the arts as a tool for economic growth in the Loop.
"Producers understand what Chicago is, and the benefit of Chicago to a show," said Lou Raizin, the president of Broadway in Chicago, "but nothing good like this comes easy."Powered by the force of the South Park brand and the widely acknowledged quality of this musical story of two naive but well-meaning Mormon missionaries trying to help an impoverished African village, ?The Book of Mormon? is by far the most sought-after Broadway property of the last two or three years. Penned by ?South Park? creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and ?Avenue Q's? Robert Lopez, ?The Book of Mormon? is that rare, one-of-a-kind show that should attract tourists to Chicago from throughout the Midwest, and well beyond. It won nine Tony Awards in June.
"We're ready" said Parker, "to have fun with the show again in Chicago."
The producers of the Chicago company, slated to perform in the Bank of America Theatre (18 W. Monroe St.), have announced an initial run of 12 weeks. But that's standard, cautious operating procedure, protocol that has been followed in the past by shows like ?Jersey Boys.? Assuming sales are strong ? and, given the situation in New York, that appears to be as good a showbiz bet as you'll find this side of Salt Lake City ? that will be a fluid figure.
?We would love the run in Chicago to be longer,? said Scott Rudin, one of the lead producers, in a telephone interview Tuesday.
The show has not, the producers said, been booked anywhere else. There will be time for that if ticket sales disappoint. And any such notice will be received well in advance. Group sales start immediately. On Sept. 18, subscribers to Broadway in Chicago's yet-to-be-announced 2012 season can get tickets. Individual tickets likely will go on sale next spring.
Chicago will not have the first ?Book of Mormon? outside New York. The previously announced national tour will begin in Denver in August. That new date, plus the Chicago schedule, are both where they are because of the need to fit in rehearsals in the gaps between ?South Park? production. According to Anne Garefino, the other lead producer, Parker, Lopez and Stone are determined to stage both the tour and the Chicago production themselves, rather than leaving them to assistants. ?If we worked that way,? Parker said, ?we'd have handed off ?South Park' about 12 years ago. This has our names on it.?
As Broadway musicals go, ?The Book of Mormon,? which reportedly cost around $9 million to stage, is not especially large or expensive. Nor is it driven by star names ? beyond its creators. On Tuesday, those involved all pledged that the Chicago production would be the same size and quality as the show in New York. ?We're hoping,? said Stone, ?to really do something great there and dial it in to that venue in Chicago.?
In New York, the show routinely grosses more than $1.2 million per week. But the Bank of America theater has close to double the capacity of the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. That could well mean ?The Book of Mormon? pulls in close to $2 million a week in Chicago. Assuming a year-long run, that would translate into a $100 million Chicago gross.
Prior economic impact studies conducted for Broadway in Chicago (using federal criteria) have determined that such a run means an economic impact for Loop business of $500 million or more. In the case of previous shows like ?Wicked? and ?Jersey Boys,? 42 percent of the audience came from more than 100 miles away.
Granted, there is some risk in rolling out this show beyond the island of Manhattan, where audiences are known for a progressive liberality that is not always matched in the rest of America. Indeed, the producers of ?Billy Elliot,? a hit in London and New York but a disappointing financial performer in Chicago and elsewhere on the road, found more resistance to such things as profanity once they left New York (although the show's producers recently announced that some of the swearing is now coming out of the show in New York, too).
None of the profanity will be coming out of ?The Book of Mormon.? Few of the lyrics would be left.
Unlike ?Billy Elliot,? which was a far more costly show and not a known quantity to most of those who do not closely follow film and theater, this show comes with one massive, two-word advantage: ?South Park.?
?There were a lot of people telling us that we had to warn people about the content. But, really, the most lucid thing we had to say about the show was that it was by the creators of ?South Park,'? Rudin said.
Said Stone: ?We've heard that for years. New York just thinks it's culturally different. Funny is funny.?
?We're from Colorado,? Parker said. ?We think it's funny.?
The ?South Park? advantage is myriad. Those who do not like the TV series or the movie (also produced by Rudin) will know to avoid the show. ?They tend to self-select out,? said Garefino, who is also executive producer of the ?South Park? series. But the fans of those animated shows have certainly self-selected in, and they include a large number of young males ? the most difficult demographic for Broadway shows to attract.
Furthermore ? and maybe here's the rub ? the show has been able to deliver on the expectations of South Park fans for uncensored satire, while also offering a show that is a good deal warmer and more sympathetic both to individual Mormons and the power of faith than most people expected. ?I think that's because there are actual people in it,? Rudin said, suggesting that the combination of collaborating with Lopez and working with flesh-and-blood humans have brought something out of the ?South Park? guys that animated characters could not.
And ?South Park? is in no way just a New York thing. ?We have fans all across the country,? said Garefino. ?We know they are all waiting for this show.?
The response from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been measured and muted ? something that both Parker and Stone said they expected, given the similar response to ?South Park's? foray into Mormon deconstruction. A church spokesman issued a pre-opening statement saying that while this show may entertain audiences for a night, ?the Book of Mormon as a volume of scripture will change people's lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.? But that has been pretty much it. No boycotts have been called nor protests arranged.
There has been speculation that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also appreciates the power of the Broadway brand. On a recent cover, Newsweek magazine featured a dancing version of the Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, suggesting that his candidacy and the unlikely success of the unrelated show might add up to a kind of new Mormon moment in America.
That is a strange outcome for a sharp spoof. But then, even though they pray for Orlando and get sent to Uganda instead, the show's missionaries keep the faith. Well, they adapt it to fit their circumstances. ?A Mormon,? they sing, in a language any theatrical producer can understand, ?just believes.?
Twitter @ChrisJonesTrib
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