1. The Book of Mormon
And here, at the top of the list, is another no-brainer for Hollywood. The most recent of the contemporary musicals on this list, The Book of Mormon was created and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and premiered on Broadway in 2011. The music was developed with Robert Lopez, who was also involved with the creation of Avenue Q. Its everything you might expect from a musical about Mormons from the guys behind TVs South Park plus a little bit more. With 9 Tony Awards (including a win for Best Musical) to its credit, the show still sells out on Broadway on a regular basis, and a West End production opened on February 25th 2013 and is still running. The show tells the story of two Mormon missionaries (Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad) who are sent to Uganda. A satire of Mormonism and religion in general, the production also parodies traditional musical theater in several respects. For example, the song You and Me (But Mostly Me) is musically a takeoff on the number Defying Gravity from Wicked, and bits of Hello! follow the musical stylings of Tomorrow from Annie. The Book of Mormon showcases what Parker and Stone do best satire. With their considerable experience in TV and film an added bonus, it is almost a foregone conclusion that well be seeing Book of Mormon on the big screen once it concludes its runs on and off Broadway. IMDB lists the musical as having been optioned by Scott Rudin Productions. What appears to be the most recent interview that mentions the film adaptation is
here at the Huffington Post.
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