Boreal Witch

It started last summer, actually, in July. It was our anniversary and I bought season tickets to all of the upcoming shows in Milwaukee. Robinson was excited - having been a "drama freak" in high school, he has a love of theater - but mostly excited for the Book of Mormon musical.

Since then, we had listened to the music continuously. December came and my Christmas present were a set of missionary name tags reading "Sister Sampson" and "Elder Duffy" - sprung from a humorous joke about dressing up like missionaries for the performance. The name tags were not perfect - actual missionary tags have two fonts, but it had been a challenge for Robinson to find a company who could just make two tags for a reasonable price.

Finally, the big day arrived. Gloria drove down from the farm to watch the boys. Robinson left work early. We left for Milwaukee far earlier than we usually did - 4:30 instead of our usual 6:30 - and ate dinner at Rodizio Grill. I attempted to remain in character by ordering a Shirley Temple. Both the waitress and my husband thought it far more amusing for me to order something else: a caipirinha - a drink similar to a mojito, but with far more alcohol.

After dinner, we headed straight to the theater. It came as no big surprise to find the missionaries attempting to hand out Books of Mormon outside. Most people avoided them like the plague, keeping their eyes down and hastening their step. We actually stopped to chat - joking afterward that this would have been the time to own a smartphone - and received a good-natured compliment about our costumes.

Inside, we stood at the windows watching the missionaries interact with the people entering the theater. Most people smiled politely and said something when offered the book from the outstretched hand of a missionary. A couple people talked to them. In fact, one couple - the husband specifically; the wife looked like she'd rather not be there - stopped and engaged the missionaries in conversation for several minutes. The wife eventually dragged the husband away.

The performance itself was hilarious, probably the funniest show I've ever seen. Since Robinson and I knew the music by heart, I got more of a laugh not from the lyrics, but from the people in the audience who hadn't heard the music from the show yet - I laughed because everyone else laughed.

If you have a chance to go see The Book of Mormon, you should. Oh, it's crass and certain naughty words are repeated over and over again, but it's an excellent show.

Blessed be.