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Musical humour and caricatures in The Book of Mormon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2024

Nick Braae Open the ORCID record for Nick Braae [Opens in a new window]
Nick Braae*
Affiliation:
Wintec, Department of Music and Performing Arts, Tristram Street, Hamilton, Waikato 3240, New Zealand
*
E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article examines the musical techniques used to create humour in the contemporary Broadway musical The Book of Mormon. Drawing on existing theories of parody, I argue that most songs initially rely on ‘straight’ and accurate imitations of other Broadway composers and pop-rock artists to set up an incongruity with the characters’ words or actions. There is a tendency then for these intertextual references to be layered or exaggerated, giving the joke in question an overblown quality. I adopt the novel label of a ‘musical caricature’ to describe such instances. This analysis thus presents a new methodological tool for studying musical humour; it also offers insights into The Book of Mormon's critical success as well as the writers’ ability to evade censure for the crude and potentially offensive thematic content.

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Article
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Popular Music , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , December 2023 , pp. 353 - 374
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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