Satirical Commentaries on Religion and their Backlash

Since the early 2000s, after several years of struggle, musical comedy has made a big comeback on Broadway. Shortly after 9/11, a series of musical comedies were released that revived hope for the Broadway scene, what John Kenrick (2008) refers to “Dark times, fresh humor”. With dark times, that fresh humour often comes in the form of social satire. Like most forms of pop culture, there is certainly a place for social satire in the theatre. When considering the secular nature of theatre, the common perception about who participates in the theater environment as stated by Henry Bial (2015), social satire about religious institutions should almost be expected. Bial labels the common perception of theatre participants to be Jews, homosexuals and women of questionable virtue, some of the very things that many religious institutions have come to discriminate against. It is a very interesting contrast to the biblical drama successes of the 1970s.

There are several musicals that have been caught in controversy in the religious community for this. The most popular being The Book of Mormon, where if you didn’t know much more beyond the name, you may expect yet another biblical retelling of what is often referred to as the Bible’s “Trilogy” by the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints. However, when the writers of South Park decided to venture into musical theatre with Robert Lopez, creator of Avenue Q (the musical whose advertisements promised full puppet nudity (Kenrick, 2008)), the expectation is not the same heart-wrenching, spiritual, intimate experience. The following pages will explore the mixed reaction to this musical from the Mormon community.

Another musical that never quite made it to Broadway is Jerry Springer: The Opera. This musical is much less expected to be about religion, however, if you know the name Jerry Springer, you know it is definitely expected to be crude. You certainly aren’t expecting a reunion of Ku Klux Klan members, Jesus and his mother Mary, and Adam and Eve in hell, alongside a crew of Jerry Springer Show guests, and the show host himself. This musical is full of obscenities, and it is not shocking when an evangelical Christian group attempted to brand it legally blasphemous (Playbill, 2007). While this show is certainly less well-known in the realm of musical theatre, the controversial and irreverent takes on biblical figures warrants analysis.