The Book of Mormon hits the Hippodrome
The show was last at the Hippodrome in the 2014 season.
Tickets were so tight, in the week it was here, I couldn’t find a seat.
But The Book of Mormon has returned to the Hippodrome and will remain there through Nov. 15.
I can only imagine tickets will be at a premium again, though I did see some empty seats the night I was there.
The show had its origins in 2003 when the team of Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone got together after seeing a production of Avenue Q. It eventually made its way to Broadway’s Eugene O’Neill theatre with a March 2011 opening. Parker and Stone were the creators of South Park.
It embarked on the first U.S. tour in 2012 and is now on the road again, playing both the states and London’s West End. The original Broadway cast album became the highest charting Broadway cast album in four decades.
During that New York run top selling seats went for as high as $477 each – and people paid it.
The investors thought those prices were a good idea and obviously they knew what they were talking about.
They recouped their $11.4 million investment in just nine months.
I don’t think it’s necessary to go into any deep plot developments here. It’s basically a religious satire about faith set primarily in Uganda and concentrates on a group of Elders from the Mormon Church trying to get the natives baptized.
It is done with song, dance and humor.
If you want to save money on tickets you can participate in the lottery that occurs two and a half hours before every performance. Put your name on a card and if your card is drawn your ticket is $25.
For more information on the show go to bookofmormonthemusical.com.
Eddie Applefeld is a Baltimore native and a graduate of Towson University. He has been in the broadcasting profession for over 30 years. Currently he is the Promotions Director of WCBM radio. Before that, he was part of the Rouse & Company show on WQSR, host of a cable TV show called Dining Out and adjunct instructor at Towson.
His past accomplishments include being named a finalist in Baltimore Tourism’s Employee of the Year Program and winner of Toastmaster’s Speaker of the Year contest. He was also twice a heartthrob for the American Heart Association’s gala fund raiser.