BYU ScholarsArchive

Article Title

Mormons, Musical Theater, and Belonging in America By Jake Johnson

Authors

Megan Sanborn Jones

Keywords

BYU Studies, book review

Abstract

In his ambitious first book, musicologist Jake Johnson examines how and why the vocal and theatrical traditions of American musicals are evidenced in the theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the heart of this examination are close readings of a number of popular American musicals and what Johnson sees as their Utah counterparts— Oklahoma! and Promised Valley; Fiddler on the Roof and Life . . . More Sweet than Bitter; The Book of Mormon and Saturday’s Warrior. Part history, part literary criticism, part religious studies, and part music studies, Mormons, Musical Theater, and Belonging in America attempts to show not only that the history of Mormons and musical theatre are intertwined but also that the vocality that emerges at the intersection of Latter-day Saint theology and theatricality is uniquely American.

Recommended Citation

Jones, Megan Sanborn (2020) "Mormons, Musical Theater, and Belonging in America By Jake Johnson," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 59: Iss. 1, Article 14.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol59/iss1/14