Theater

Getting a ticket to review The Book of Mormon at the Orpheum Theatre on Wednesday, February 6 was like getting a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. "We bought our tickets a year ago," an acquaintance of my friend told us. People filled the halls before the doors opened at 7 p.m., anxious to get to their seats. The half hour before the show started, people had their phones out, taking pictures of their tickets and selfies in front of the cloud backdrop (probably sharing it on Facebook to make friends who couldn't get a ticket jealous). There's a lot of hype surrounding the show by the creators of South Park, and judging by the reception of the bathroom humor, Star Wars and Star Trek references, irreverent religious commentary, the show didn't disappoint Wednesday night's crowd.

I was standing in the lobby of the Jungle Theater on February 1, wondering how I was going to summarize my reaction to Venus in Fur, when Bain Boehlke—the theater’s artistic director—approached me with a microphone, a cameraman shooting over his shoulder. I struggled to finish the massive shrimp in my mouth in time to answer Boehlke’s questions, all of which I answered honestly but…diplomatically. Finally, Boehlke asked what I thought of the ending, whether I was surprised. I said something noncommittal, which Boehlke managed to summarize succinctly. “It didn’t turn you around,” he said, “because you weren’t sure where you had been led.” I nodded. Yes, that was it.