Re-review: The Book of Mormon

Nearly two years after opening in London, The Book of Mormon remains one of the West End's hottest tickets. This was my first return trip to the show since I first saw it - you can read my original review here - and this time it was my Christmas present to my sister. American actors A.J. Holmes and Billy Harrigan Tighe have taken over the lead roles of Elders Cunningham and Price, and Kevin Harvey has replaced Giles Terera as the Elders' guide to the Ugandan village, Mafala Hatimbi, but otherwise the main cast have all stuck around - although tonight Lucy St Louis was understudying Alexia Khadime as Nabulungi and doing a good job of it, with a powerful voice in the funny but touching "Sal Tlay Ka Siti." Although the show was never overlong in the first place, it now seems to have shed an extra 15 minutes from when I last saw it, making it zip past all the more speedily and satisfyingly.

Theatre review: The Book of Mormon

PREVIEW DISCLAIMER: The Book of Mormon invites London critics in next week.

The Book of Mormon has had a lot to live up to. Avenue Q is one of my all-time favourite shows, so its co-creator Robert Lopez teaming up with South Park's Matt Stone and Trey Parker for a new musical was an exciting prospect even before the rave reviews and Tony awards started flooding in. Add to that the fact that when I went to New York in 2011 I tried a number of times, unsuccessfully, to get a ticket to the Broadway production via its daily lottery (which is being replicated for the West End run) and this has been a long time coming. I went along with much of the same group of people I made several trips to Avenue Q with (bar Vanessa, who realised she'd get disowned if she saw it before her daughter) and the good news is it wasn't long before Evil Alex's loud, rather hysterical laugh started up.