A Global Phenomenon

The musical—a satire in the style of South Park and Avenue Q—follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word.

The conception of The Book of Mormon began when Parker and Stone met with Lopez after a performance of Avenue Q, the award-winning puppet musical, in 2003. They discovered a mutual interest in telling a story about Joseph Smith and the Mormon religion. A short time after that initial meeting, Lopez, Parker and Stone took a trip to Salt Lake City for inspiration, and The Book of Mormon musical was born.

“Bobby had never been to Salt Lake City,” Parker said. He continued, “We started talking to Mormon missionaries, and talking to those kids it just so immediately became obvious: That’s the story to tell! Some kid who’s born and raised in Salt Lake, has done everything right, done everything he’s told to do, and then goes and gets a dose of the real world.”