Chad Burris has lived his whole life in Alma. He saw his first professional theater production at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, cementing his dream of one day performing at the front of its 1,200-seat house. That night may finally come as Burris returns to Fayetteville next week as the understudy for one of the lead characters in a touring Broadway musical. The show? A little comedy Entertainment Weekly calls "the funniest musical of all time."
"The Book of Mormon" is finally coming to Fayetteville.
FAQ
‘The Book of Mormon’
WHEN — Tuesday-Dec. 18
WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville
COST — Sold out
INFO — waltonartscenter.org
FYI
Lottery Offered
A pre-show lottery will have around 20 front-of-house seats available for each of the seven performances at $25 apiece. Entries will be accepted beginning two and a half hours prior to each show, with names drawn at random two hours before curtain. Entries will not be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis, but winners must be present at the drawing to accept tickets.
INFO — 443-5600
"I don't think Fayetteville has seen many shows like 'The Book of Mormon,'" Burris says. It might be safe to say no one has seen many shows like "The Book of Mormon." From the creators of "South Park" and one of the minds behind the music of "Avenue Q," "Mormon" is its own beast. "There is some shock value to what we're doing. It grabs people's attention because they connect with that kind of humor."
The satire of the Mormon faith is riddled with curse words and moments that make the audience squirm, but not for the reasons you might think. Sure, the comedy is poking fun at religions -- primarily, but not exclusively, Joseph Smith and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But when the well-meaning boys of the church arrive in a small Ugandan village to pursue their mission of spreading the Gospel, the clever script uses comedy to explore whether the audience is more offended by the explicit language or by the more severe issues of a Third World country -- like, you know, genocide.
"The show is so cool because, especially with all the stuff going on [in the world] right now -- [theater] talks about things going in our lives," Burris says. And though it may have a reputation to the contrary, Burris promises the point of the show isn't to make fun of Mormons. "We like to say we're an equal opportunity offender. It's making fun of you in one sentence and making fun of the person next to you in the next. [It's] like a roast."
If you're wondering how well a show full of cursing, blasphemy and Mormonism will go over in the Bible Belt, the show's quick sell-out months ago gives the indication Fayetteville is ready for this journey. And while Fay Town may be slightly less conservative than the rest of the state, Burris says his alma mater -- private school Ouachita Baptist University -- and the family and friends of his small hometown have been nothing but supportive.
"People [in the cast] aren't sure what to expect of Arkansas [either]. I'm looking forward to showing them around and how beautiful it is. Arkansas is so good to [and] supportive of their people," Burris says. Despite different backgrounds and senses of humor, Burris thinks people will connect with the show's higher message that everyone should come together regardless of what we believe.
"Sometimes shows try to do things that are off-color but don't have heart. [This show] is written with a lot of heart -- everyone in the cast believes in what they're doing. That is why people buy into the journey. You fall in love with these characters, and people want to see them succeed."
NAN What's Up on 12/09/2016