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CU鈥檚 South Park duo conquers Broadway with box office hit.

Going to New York City this summer?听Buy your ticket now for the most offensive, irreverent and popular Broadway show in town.听The Book of Mormon,which opened in March, is a stunning box office hit created by听Matt Stone听(Art, Math鈥�93) and听Trey Parker听(A&S ex鈥�93).

It has received glowing reviews from critics at the听Washington Post,听Rolling Stone,听The听New York Times听and听Los Angeles Times, among others. Elysa Gardner of听USA Today听wrote that 鈥渢he most surprising thing about听Mormon听. . . may be its inherent sweetness . . . Neither the Mormons nor the Ugandans are mocked for their belief systems; they鈥檙e parodied for their mutual human fallibility.鈥�

From Boulder to Broadway, the two alums leave a colorful trail of pop culture work from听Cannibal! The Musical听and other films to the animated sitcom听South Park, Comedy Central鈥檚 longest-running and highest-rated program. Raised in Colorado, Stone and Parker became almost inseparable friends and collaborators at CU. The Emmy-Award-winning听South Park听debuted in 1997 and attacks both sides of the political fence through its characters鈥� satirical sense of humor and crude language.

Even as they worked on听South Park听and other projects, the idea of doing a Broadway musical was percolating. When they met听Avenue Q听composer Robert Lopez in 2003, the three discovered something in common 鈥� a fascination with Mormonism. So they decided to team up and take the plunge. Creating one song and scene at a time, it took years for the finished product.

鈥淚t was something Matt and I talked about since college,鈥� Parker told听Playbill, 鈥渁nd we realized maybe we should be doing this together.鈥�

The Book of Mormon听follows the misadventures of two young, mismatched Mormon missionaries.

Instead of being sent to their dream destination of Orlando, Fla., they find themselves in an AIDS-ravaged village in Uganda where their experiences with the villagers, a local warlord and other missionaries teach uplifting lessons about their religion and the beliefs of others.

Make no mistake.听The Book of Mormon听is not for everyone. Some will be shocked by the jaw-dropping language, and others by what they see as blasphemous ridicule of Mormonism. That was never the intent, Parker said in an interview with听The听New York Times. 鈥淲e wanted to make this not just cynical and Mormon bashing but hopeful and happy.鈥�

With the musical selling out every performance, Stone鈥檚 degree in math should come in handy when calculating his and Parker鈥檚 share of the almost $1 million weekly take at the box office.

To learn more or book tickets, go to听,听听 or call (212) 239-6200.

Hugh Heckman听(PolSci鈥�69) has been writing for the听CBS Evening News听since 1975. He鈥檚 also an actor in New York City.