Commentary: Mormon pageants and the performance of whiteness

Many were taken aback when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced last month that it would no longer support or encourage large-scale pageants. One of the church’s longest-running traditions of musical theater, pageants are a big deal in Mormonism. The Hill Cumorah Pageant in particular provides a long-running theatrical link to the faith. “Book of Mormon” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone drew inspiration from the pageant in constructing their musical sati