The Book of Mormon took Broadway by storm when it premiered at the Eugene O’Neill theatre in New York in 2011 and – in addition to winning a whole host of awards – it has been breaking box office records in the US and around the world ever since. When tickets went on sale on February 2016 – almost a year ago to the day – Melbourne’s Princess Theatre recorded the highest selling on sale period for any production in the theatre’s 159-year history.

And it’s not hard to see why. Created by the duo behind South Park – Trey Parker and Matt Stone – and Robert Lopez of Avenue Q and Frozen pedigree, The Book of Mormon is funny, irreverent and absurdly heart-warming – but most of all, the music is fantastic.

^{Ryan Bondy as Elder Price, photos by Jeff Busby}

The show tells the story of a pair of bright-eyed Mormon missionaries who quickly find themselves in over their heads when they’re sent to a Ugandan village to spread the teachings of Joseph Smith. Canadian Ryan Bondy is...