The Book of Mormon Cast - Hasa Diga Eebowai

Yesterday I finally accomplished a goal of mine: to see the extremely popular play The Book of Mormon. It’s by the creators of the long-running TV show South Park, and if you’re familiar with that series then you should have a pretty good idea as to the tone of the play and this song, especially in terms of offensiveness. I would say that if you’re not a fan of the irreverent humor featured in South Park, you should steer clear of this song, because it contains all sorts of offensive material, from violence to blasphemy to profanity. I personally love that this song mixes that kind of content in with what sounds like traditional African choir music. BTW, the phrase that is repeated throughout the song (and its title) is not a real language, but it still serves its point to drive home the reminder to the presumably advantaged audience that the real problems that pervade parts of Africa are so extreme as to be outside the realm of experience and relatability.

The Book of Mormon Cast - Hasa Diga Eebowai:

The Book of Mormon Cast - Hello!

This has nothing to do with Halloween, but the Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, which is both hugely popular AND critically-acclaimed, is coming to town and I want to see it sooooo badly! It’s by the creators of the also-hugely-popular TV show South Park, and I’ve already seen bits and pieces of it and it seems great. I heard this song from it when it was used as the opening number of the 2012 Tony Awards.

 The Book of Mormon Cast - Hello!:


Here’s the performance from 2012 Tony Awards ceremony where I first heard this song: