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Right up front, this is not a review of "The Book of Mormon" musical currently being performed at the Capitol Theatre. It's just what I saw.

Truthfully, I hadn't even planned on seeing the Tony Award-winning play. Not because it was bad or light-minded, or even obscene. I simply don't like paying 200 bucks to watch something that doesn't explode.

But then I was given a couple of free press passes for Wednesday night. Since I needed only one, I considered calling LDS Church HQ and inviting any one of the Brethren who had nothing better to do.

My wife put a stop to that by insisting she come along instead.

On the way downtown, we discussed what we had already heard about the controversial play. It wasn't good.

"The Book of Mormon" was already notorious for being offensive. For starters, the language was supposed to be beyond obscene. My wife, who is a lady, might be troubled by that.

Then there was the portrayal of LDS theology and history, which was reportedly mean-spirited, blasphemous and patently insulting on any number of fronts. I'd heard the entire script had been written by Satan in the blood of a thousand Primary children.

My wife and I wondered if there would be anything so offensive that we would get up and leave? Would we see Mormons burst into tears, storm out or call everyone in the theater to repentance?

Nope. We both thought the production was well-done and even hilarious in lots of places. Was it scandalous and irreverent? You bet. But truth be told, I've heard things in church that pissed me off more.

It was also ribald enough to fry any strictly G-rated heads in the audience. However, given the amount of coverage the play's received, anyone like that who still bought a ticket deserved to be offended.

But again that's just me. I've been a soldier, cop, journalist and the father of three teenage girls. I don't have any feelings left to hurt.

Besides, when it comes to the controversial, I always enjoy the "other" show — the one played out in the reaction of the audience.

There was a lot of laughter during the BOM musical. It's a healthy thing when it's done for the right reason. But just because you can laugh doesn't mean you have a great sense of humor. It mostly depends on what and who you're laughing about/at.

On Wednesday night, there were also a lot of different types of laughter. Judging from the tone, they ranged from the openly derisive to the embarrassed self-effacing.

The latter is the best kind of humor. When the show was over, I heard someone say that the missionary characters were portrayed as too simple-minded. I didn't think so. Hell, I recognized at least two of my mission companions on stage.

And then there's the other kind of laughter, the kind that makes us feel better about ourselves by reducing others to dispensable caricatures. It's the jeering sort of laughter heard at a 17th century witch burning, or a brutish version spilling from a brownshirt beer hall in 1939 Germany.

Humor is a great stress relief when you're feeling oppressed by a dominant culture. The big question is, can you take it when it's traveling in the opposite direction?

All things (production values, talent, etc.) being equal, how funny do you think a play about homosexuality would be if it were produced by the Westboro Baptist Church?

Speaking of attacking intolerance through laughter, why isn't there a "Quran: The Musical"? I'm guessing it has less to do with free creative expression and financially successful marketing than it does audience appreciation. Mormons are guilty of a lot of things, but it's been ages since we blew anyone up.

It's one thing to have Joseph Smith or even Jesus capering around a stage with a rubber phallus attached to his front, but try that $#*! with the prophet Mohammed and you couldn't dig a hole deep enough to hide in.

If laughter really is the best medicine, we still have to be careful how we apply it.

Robert Kirby can be reached at rkirby@sltrib.com or facebook.com/stillnotpatbagley.