The following article was originally written by Ginny Romney for Deseret News.
In late July and early August, Salt Lake City will be home to two musical theater productions based on the Book of Mormon — one a Tony Award-winning Broadway hit, and one a humble offering from a self-taught composer seeking “to represent the Book of Mormon accurately and in an inspired way.”
Sherry Allred, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Centerville, is the composer and writer of “Nephi and the Sword of Laban,” a musical that has “been brewing within (her) heart for a long time.”
“Nephi and the Sword of Laban” will be performed July 27 through Aug. 8 at Salt Lake Community College’s Grand Theatre, just 10 miles from the Capitol Theatre, where “The Book of Mormon” will show from July 28 to Aug. 9.
“My original purpose was to share the Book of Mormon and encourage people to read it,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t want to pick a fight with (‘The Book of Mormon’ musical).”
“The Book of Mormon” is a critically acclaimed production that won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2011. The musical, written by “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, is also irreverent and disrespectful toward its subject matter and uses profane language.
Once Allred realized that the Broadway musical told a tale of missionaries proselytizing in Africa rather than the stories contained within the pages of LDS scripture, she hoped her musical could “defend the Book of Mormon in a big way.”
Read Romney’s full article at deseretnews.com.
