Book, music, and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Directed by Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker. Presented by Broadway Across Canada at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Wednesday, April 8. Continues until April 12

I think I might have to start a support group for people who aren’t blown away by The Book of Mormon.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to love in this multiple Tony Award-winning musical. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who created South Park, developed this piece with Robert Lopez, one of the songwriters from Avenue Q. Given their pedigrees, it’s not surprising that The Book of Mormon works best at its most outrageous.

We follow two young Mormons—the handsome, self-regarding Elder Price, and Elder Cunningham, who is a socially insecure, compulsive liar—as they head out on a mission to a Ugandan village. When they get there, the colorful locals sing a Lion King–like song, “Hasa Diga Eebowai”, which, our young missionaries soon find out, translates as “Fuck you, God.”

The Book of Mormon doesn’t mess around: 80 percent of the people in the village have AIDS, one of them wants to rape a baby to cure himself, and the local warlord, General Butt-Fucking Naked, is determined to cut off every clitoris he can find. This juxtaposition of real-life horrors and the quintessential buoyancy of American musical theatre creates a free-fall that lands in giddiness—and makes a sharp point about the stupidity of colonialism.

And, of course, The Book of Mormon rips into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I mean, who could resist? Mormons believe that, when they die, they’re each going to get their own planet. And Mormons are infamously conservative. In “Turn It Off”, which might be the best number in the show, the gay Elder McKinley desperately tries to tamp down his inner showgirl.

Some of the compositions—notably “Hello”, the complex opening number—are terrific. And the cast in this touring production is excellent. A.J. Holmes (Elder Cunningham) puts consistently deft spin on his lines, and Billy Harrigan Tighe (Elder Price) is a phenomenal dancer and all-round razor-sharp performer.

So what’s my beef? Well, The Book of Mormon is so aggressively entertaining that it pretty much defies emotional involvement. That would be okay if it kept on upping its level of wit or spectacle, but it doesn’t. “All American Prophet” and “Mormon Hell Dream” continue to rip into Mormonism, with decreasing returns. The romantic through line involving Elder Cunningham and a young Ugandan woman named Nabulungi is flat: her big number “Sal Tlay Ka Siti” (Salt Lake City) is a standard-issue ballad.

And, surprisingly, The Book of Mormon goes soft on religion. Thematically, the point of the musical is that, no matter how wacky, religions can be useful, even benign metaphors. That’s way too easy and feels like a cop-out.

But, hell, at its best, The Book of Mormon is one unique entertainment. In “Joseph Smith American Moses”, the villagers perform the history of Mormonism as Elder Cunningham has taught it to them—complete with references to Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. He’s a compulsive liar, remember?