The touring version of the satirical Broadway smash “The Book of Mormon” that’s playing at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre through Sunday looks different than it did the last time it was in town. But, first, I come to heap praise on Diego Enrico, who plays Elder Cunningham, one half of the pair of young Mormons sent to Uganda on a missionary trip. The role calls for broad comedy and Enrico more than delivers. He goes big and loud but, crucially, never gets hammy or pandering. It’s a truly unique gift for a comic actor to strike that balance and this kid nails it. Yes, I called him a kid. Enrico graduated from New York’s Molloy University in June and joined the tour in late September. Mere months into his first-ever professional gig, Enrico comes across like a seasoned veteran just waiting for his inevitable chance to turn stage stardom into something bigger. (It’s worth noting that Josh Gad originated the role on Broadway.) Not to put too fine of a point on it, but he alone is worth the price of admission. “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone had long been fascinated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its founder Joseph Smith. After a chance meeting with Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, the creative team behind “Avenue Q,” the quartet realized they shared an interest in telling their own take on the Mormon story for the stage. (Marx later left the project.) Some eight years after that initial meeting, “The Book of Mormon” finally debuted on Broadway in 2011 to instant acclaim and notoriety, from critics, audiences and the industry itself. Thanks to the then-novel concept of surge pricing — which has since overtaken the large-scale concert industry — the show was a huge money maker from the start. It went on to earn 13 Tony nominations and scored nine wins, including best musical, book of a musical and original score. What’s so amazing about the show’s outsized success is its shockingly brazen attacks on Mormonism and organized religion in general. But Parker and Stone — who are among the most visible libertarians in Hollywood — also take aim at everyone else and gleefully punch away at any number of taboo subjects. Take the “Hakuna Matata”-style number “Hasa Diga Eebowai,” which absolutely skewers the Western trope of portraying Africans as grinning, noble savages. It opens as a cheery, apparent ode to the divine being that quickly reveals itself as a defiant flip of the bird to the very notion of God. Through some of the most jaw-droppingly profane lines ever delivered on a Broadway stage, it mines famine, AIDS, forced female circumcision and child molestation for … laughs. It’s divisive enough that, from the start, “Hasa Diga Eebowai” has prompted some audience members to stand up and walk out of the show less than a half hour into the first act. What they end up missing is that for as wicked as “The Book of Mormon” can be, it’s also utterly hilarious. And there’s a true heart and sweetness at the show’s core. It ends with the notion that there’s real value in faith, even if it’s not necessarily expressed through a specific denomination. EARLIER: ‘Book of Mormon’: How offended will you be? After the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the forced closure of Broadway due to the pandemic, producers of hit musicals like “Hamilton,” “The Lion King,” “Aladdin” and “The Book of Mormon” used the opportunity to take another look at how their shows portray Black, and particularly African, characters. (Tonal revisions of all sorts are common when it comes to revivals, but rare among current blockbuster productions.) The “Book of Mormon” creative trio sat down with the entire cast and spent two full weeks going through the script, line by line, and examined what worked, and what didn’t. What emerged is a revised take on the story that gives the African characters more agency and elevates the character of Nabulungi (ably played here by Keke Nesbitt) into a more central and important role. For the most part, the changes — which also include some much-needed freshening up of some of the non-racial gags — work. “The Book of Mormon” maintains its singular role as both wildly offensive and wildly entertaining. Oh, and remember the name Diego Enrico. That kid is going to be a star. ‘The Book of Mormon’ When: Through Sunday Where: Orpheum Theatre, 910 Hennepin Ave. S., Minneapolis Tickets: $199-$55 via hennepinarts.org Capsule: The famously biting satire remains a gem. Related Articles Theater | Theater review: Park Square’s ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!’ is kid-friendly fun Theater | Theater review: You’re welcome at the church of Penumbra’s ‘Black Nativity’ Theater | Review: ‘I Am Betty’ traces 100 years of feminism through the lens of Betty Crocker Theater | Theater review: Latte Da meets Rodgers and Hammerstein with Broadway’s ‘Cinderella’ refresh Theater | Theater Latte Da’s ‘Cinderella’ is its first foray into the work of Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II