"The Book of Mormon" offensive?
(CBS) From Scientology to the Virgin Mary, nothing is off-limits for "South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. And the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is no exception.
Parker and Stone are taking their antics from television to Broadway, with a new musical, "The Book of Mormon," which takes a satirical look at this religion that has been mocked many times before on "South Park."
But, the question remains, are they out to merely offend? In recent press interviews, the creative duo said no. "We didn't sit down and say, 'All right, let's bash Mormons," Parker said of the creative process. "How should we do it? Let's spend seven years of our lives writing a Broadway musical so that we can rip on Mormons."
In fact, Parker and Stone say adherents of the religion they are poking fun at are actually enjoying the musical. Stone revealed, "That wasn't a big surprise to us, that Mormons would like it. I think when people first were asking us this question, we were like, 'No, Mormons are going to like this.'"
Mormons apparently aren't the only viewers enjoying the show. So far, the critics have been praising Parker and Stone's musical, garnering enough positive press to make "Spider-Man" jealous.
"The Book of Mormon" officially opens on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neil Theater on March 24.
