Review: The Book of Mormon (Touring)

Wednesday 12th November 2025 at Leeds Grand Theatre

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The Book of Mormon has enjoyed unwavering success since opening on Broadway in 2011, subsequently sweeping 9 Tony awards and entertaining huge audiences ever since. It’s a brave, razor-sharp show which ingeniously strikes a balance between satisfying musical spectacle and pretty outrageous punchlines and plot points.

Setting off on their mission to recruit new members to the Mormon church are (among others, played by a stellar company of triple threat wonders) Elder Price and Elder Cunningham; the former a hilariously overconfident show-off and the latter a hilariously awkward jester figure who just wants a best friend he can proudly stand in the shadow of. 

Adam Bailey has an incredibly powerful and dynamic voice as Elder Price, gliding through the score with impressive ease and utterly nailing the ego-mania of the role. Sam Glen is comic gold as Elder Cunningham, the classic fool who stumbles after others until he is unexpectedly given the reins – and aces the whole thing. He’s a fantastic foil for Bailey’s character but also makes a great double act with Nyah Nish’s Nabulungi, the innocent, pure-hearted villager keen to find a way out of a hopeless situation (with Nish also boasting a soaring, gorgeous voice). There’s a stern but loving father (Kirk Patterson) to avoid disappointing and a tyrannical General (Sackie Osakonor) to avoid at all costs.

Book, music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone boast an incredible rate of zingers and genuinely jaw-dropping moments and I was again struck, as I have been before, by the cognitive dissonance created by outrageous lyrics sung with such beauty. Suffice to say, and many have said it – this show is not for those with light hearts and staunch commitment to what is PC at all times – it’s a bit white-knuckle in places of course, but what else could we expect, given the South Park connection?

 It might take you a few minutes to acclimatise, but it’s impossible not to get swept along by the beaming, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed exuberance of the characters indirectly providing commentary on the tricky worlds of faith and missionary work.

While the script and lyrics hold much glory, it’s actually the high- camp, showbiz choreography from Casey Nicholaw (who also directs, along with Trey Parker) that brings so much joy and hilarity to the show. “Turn it Off” and “Two By Two” stand out as a particularly brilliant sequence, but the whole show is elevated by Nicholaw’s work.

Music and songs are top notch (Musical supervision and vocal arrangements: Stephen Oremus), and uncomfortably catchy, given the lyrics, but thoroughly enjoyable as we watch our naive characters navigate choppy waters. Highlights include “You and Me (But Mostly Me), with its delicious Wicked nod, “Sal Tlay Ka Siti”, “Man Up” and “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream” (Featuring cracking hellish Scenic design from Scott Pask and Panto-esque bold strokes in Ann Roth’s costume designs).

All in all, The Book of Mormon promises a fantastic evening of outrageous entertainment boasting top musical talent. Not for the faint-hearted, true, but still one of the funniest shows out there. Catch it if you can!

The Book of Mormon is at Leeds Grand Theatre until November 29th 2025 – more information and tickets can be found here.