Sometime before the school year began in 2001 we had to get our schedule. 9th grade. This was it. Only four more years of required education and how was it starting? With fucking theater…As a fat, shy kid who would rather chance being buried alive than have any sort of spotlight on them, I immediately began to panic. As if starting high school wasn’t stressful enough, I then had this looming introductory course meant for extroverts.
Fast forward to the end of the year and I made it. I also went on to be in theater the following year but found solace as part of the tech crew instead of the acting clique. None of that, however, made me yearn for Broadway – at all. So with this week being all about crushes that crush the stage, I had to think long and hard because unlike our guest this week, ‘Life’s But a Song’ and ‘Movie Deja Vu‘ podcast host Jon Reilly, theater isn’t something I know a whole lot about. Then, after the wheels turned a bit, I thought…Matt Stone and Trey Parker, of course!
The creators of ‘South Park’ did make a whole ass play that shined a big ol light on a particular religion with ‘The Book of Mormon’ and while I never saw the original run that featured the snowman from ‘Frozen,’ I did get to attend the LA premiere thanks to my buddy Cindy. Thank you, Cindy! We’ll always have our pics with Lisa Kudrow to remember the night! Anyways, it was the first (and only) real play I ever saw in a fancy pants setting like that at Pantages. I’d go on to see it once more with my BFF for her birthday a bit later.
I think the only reason I loved it was because it had the Matt and Trey humor I’d come to know and love since I was a wee child watching ‘South Park’ in elementary school. Yeah, my mom would record it for me so I could watch it the next morning before school. We were and always will be a trailer trash family like that. My mom even had an army of Cartman dolls once upon a time.
Back to ‘The Book of Mormon’ though, because what I loved about it was that it was something I could laugh at. I think theater often comes with more drama. At least that’s what I always thought. If it wasn’t dramatic, then it was like…I don’t know, weird as hell like…’Cats.’ Perhaps if someone could suggest more plays like ‘Book of Mormon,’ I could attend the theater a bit more in the future? So if you have suggestions – send them my way.
As for Matt and Trey, if they ever wanted to write another play – I’d be there in a heartbeat.
Crushgasm 