PopCult

The PopCulteer
April 3, 2026

The PopCult Toybox

This week we have a topic of utmost importance in the world today:  Just what IS the difference between a Labubu and a Lafufu?

The Labubu is a small plush toy with a vinyl face made and sold by Pop Mart.  Last year these nifty little critters, formally known as “The Monsters,” part of the every growing empire of Pop Mart’s small plush and bag clip creations, became a massive worldwide pop culture phenomenon.

There was a level of hysteria not seen since the heyday of the Cabbage Patch Kids in the 1980s. Pre-teens and adults alike went to ridiculous extremes to get rare collectible variants. Some fell victim to a mania and there was even a gambling element as some of these little plush dolls were sold only in claw machines that took hundreds of tries to obtain.

There were interventions and concerned psychologists and of course we had the usual right-wing looney preachers declaring them to be demonic because of their appearance.

But what captured my attention was the emergence of The Lafufu.  These are knockoffs of the Labubu, sold in kiosks, convenience stores and other establishments that definitely aren’t Pop Mart, and to an unsuspecting person (or parent), they look exactly like a Labubu.

But they aren’t. There are rumors and conspiracy theories floating around out there:  Maybe these were made by Pop Mart to create a “budget line” to capture the market share that would normally be lost because the original Labubus are not cheap (most go for around thirty bucks). There is also a theory that these are made by Pop Mart, but only to be sold in territories where they don’t have a retail presence.  If they aren’t made by Pop Mart themselves, maybe they’re made by one or more of their suppliers (this would not be the first time this happened). Perhaps these are part of a worldwide organized crime operation that got involved because these are just as lucrative as drugs, but not as risky.

Most likely these are the product of one or more companies based in China that devote their all their efforts to creating bootleg knockoffs of whatever is a hot product that they can pass off to less demanding retailers who just want to get in on the act cheap.

Being a connoisseur of knockoff toys, over the last year I picked up a few of the Lafufus during my travels. What struck me as interesting was how the retailers who did sell these made no effort to hide the fact that they were knockoffs. They were either clearly labelled as “Lafufus” or I was told by the person behind the counter when I was paying for them.

Pixie

I should interject here that I was turned on to the whole Labubu phenomenon by my friend Pixie, who filled me in on all the pertinent details about Labubus and Lafufus and added more background, like the fact that all Labubus are female, save for one, who is their brother and is extremely rare.

I suppose this makes breeding them rather ill-advised.

It was making a short video unboxing for Pixie that led to this column. You see, last December, when Mel and I were in Chicago, we visited a real, honest-to-god, Pop Mart. While there, I picked up a real Labubu in the “Exciting Macaron” assortment. I already had a Lafufu from that assortment that I’d picked up in Nitro last year. I’d intended to compare them, but life got in the way, and I didn’t get around to opening the real Labubu until yesterday.

When I did…I was struck by how close the Lafufu copied the original, but also how many major differences become obvious when you look at them side-by-side.

And that is what this photo essay is about. It’s the Battle of “The Monsters,” as we compare the real Labubu with the bogus Lafufu. I realize that there are likely hundreds of thousands of videos on this subject available on Tik Tok, but being an old fart means that I haven’t seen any of those yet. So this is all new to me.

Prepare for a lesson in Labubury as we dive into the photos…

The Labubu is on the left, the Lafufu is on the right. Note that the Lafufu box is noticeably smaller, and is colored differently. It looks like they scanned the original box, color-corrected it badly, and shrunk it down slightly.

A close up indicates that they may have just darkened the artwork, and possibly even not on purpose.

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Today’s post has been delayed a bit thanks to the thoughtful intervention of Appalachian Power.

On this day in PopCult, exactly twenty years ago…I didn’t have a post.

I wasn’t posting at least once a day back then. However, the first week of April, 2006 was pretty interesting, so we’re going to look back at it all today. Actually, April 2 and 5 were the only days that week without a fresh post.

We had two posts on April 1, and neither was an April Fool’s joke.

We offered up a preview of an IWA East Coast show, Shoots and Ladders, which was headlined by a battle between El Drunko and Sandman, and also featured Dick Togo, Chris Hero, Mad Man Pondo, Mickie Knuckles, Juggulator,  Bull Pain, and Trik Nasty, plus others. Amazingly enough, the Fight For Fattawn show, just a few weeks ago, also featured El Drunko and Trik Nasty.

As I recall, it was a supremely entertaining show, although there was a little bit of “card subject to change” in play.

On that same day, an Animated Discussions post co-written with my now wife, Mel Larch, offered up a preview of Ice Age 2. Mel and I had continued our animation column, which had run in The Charleston Gazette since 1991, as a weekly feature in PopCult for a while.

We still revive it once in a while these days.

It is somewhat mind-blowing to realize that every movie that we reviewed for The Charleston Gazette back in our animation columnist days is at least 21 years old, and some of them are more than 35 years old.

While we miss doing the column regularly, these are some depressing days in the animation industry, with media consolidation and AI combining to threaten the possibility of making a living as an animator.

On April 3, it was time for Monday Morning Art, and I brought you this digitally-assaulted photo:

This was about ten years before I’d been diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis, but at that point the disease was already advanced enough that I was exclusively producing digital art because I didn’t have enough control over my fingers to work with physical art.

Happily, I’ve regained the ability to make physical art now that I’m getting treatment.

On April 4 I posted a Song From Three Bodies that I co-produced with Spencer Elliott back in the early 1990s. This one’s bittersweet because while that was a wonderful experience, we just lost Brian Young, who was the drummer for the band late last year. A tribute video episode of RFC is in the works.

Here’s what I wrote then…

Three Bodies laying down on the job

As promised here, this week’s Song Of The Week is “Shingles And Tar” by Three Bodies, one of the mainstays of Radio Free Charleston. From a batch of demos co-produced by Three Bodies, Spencer Elliott, and me, this one was my baby. I contributed ideas for the backing vocals, effects, and arranged the starts and stops near the end. Despite my contributions, the song was yet another mini-masterpiece by Kris Cormandy, Brian Lucas, and Brian Young. There is a story behind the lyrics, but it’s faded from my memory over the last 16 years.

The image is taken from flyers I did for the band back in 1991. The image at left shows that, before the days when I assaulted photographs digitally with my computer, my weapons of choice were Xerox machines and Sharpees.

April 6 saw a review of a show by The No Pants Players, West Virginia’s original Improv troupe. The spirit of The NPP lives on at The Alban Arts Center with Factory Reset, featuring many former No Pants Players.

Also on April 6, I posted a short review of the MEGA Bloks Pyrates line, which was a bit of an obession of mine for a few years. I think mine are all in the attic now.

We wrapped up the week with another installment of Animated Discussions, where Mel and I previewed five new shows that were coming o Adult Swim. Of note, those five shows were Metalocalypse, Frisky Dingo, Saul of the Moon Men, Lucy-Daughter of the Devil and Assy McGee.

I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that those shows are all twenty years old.

That was our look back at 20 years ago in Pop Cult. I’m gonna crawl off and feel old now.

Easter happens this weekend, and that’s plenty for those of you who have family traditions and such to deal with. For the rest of you we have more cool STUFF TO DO all over and just beyond the borders of the state, to tell you about, noted as briefly as possible. Also, for anybody expecting April Fool’s Day stuff here…not this year. The world has been fooled enough for a while.

Again, I’m just scratching the surface here. Please don’t think this is all we have to offer.

Before we go on to the coming events, remember that this Friday is yet another Bandcamp Friday!

If you read PopCult regularly and/or listen to Radio Free Charleston on our sister internet station, The AIR, you know that my mantra for RFC is “Support the Local Scene. Support Independent Music. Buy your music in an ethical manner.”

One of the most ethical ways to buy music these days is by using Bandcamp, which on a normal day, passes along a much more equitable amount of the money you spend to the artists who make the music that keeps them in business.

On Bandcamp Friday, they waive their usual fees and the artists get to keep virtually ALL of the money spent on their music and merch that they sell through Bandcamp.

This is why I like to plug Bandcamp Friday. As I just explained, that’s the day when my favored streaming service, Bandcamp, foregoes their usual cut of the money and lets the artists keep all the money spent on their music and merch.

The artists get a much bigger cut of the proceeds.  If you scroll down and check out almost any post about an episode of Radio Free Charleston that has a playlist in this blog since 2023, you will find that the list of artists have links, many of which take you directly to that artist’s Bandcamp page.

As always, you should remember that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.  Also, if you have a show that you’d like to plug in the future, even if your promotional graphic uses cruddy AI art, contact me via Social Media at Facebook, BlueSky , Spoutible, Instagram or Twitter.  I dont charge for this, so you might as well send me something if you have an event to promote.

We are very happy to remind you that Cristen Michael has created an interactive calendar that is way more comprehensive than this list of STUFF TO DO, and you can find it HERE. Just click on the day and the event and you’ll be whisked away to a page with more details about loads of area events.

Most weekends you can find live music at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 PM.  Many Sunday afternoons at 2 PM they also have live music. This weekend they have music from Chris Quattro on Friday and Marcus Olgebay on Saturday.

You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look.  Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Among the notable music venues in town are The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe, Live at The Shop in Dunbar, Louie’s, at Mardi Gras Casino & Resort, In Huntington, there’s local institution, The Loud (formerly The V Club),  The Wandering Wind Meadery is on Charleston’s West Side, Plus there’s music in Charleston at The Blue Parrot, Sam’s Uptown Cafe and Fife Street Brewing.

You might also find cool musical events at Route 60 Music in Barboursville and Folklore Music Exchange in Charleston.

To hear music in an alcohol-free enviroment, see what’s happening at Pumzi’s, on Charleston’s West Side. We have a graphic for Friday’s Bob Marley tribute below.

You can also visit Coal River Coffee in Saint Albans for live music in an alcohol-free environment.

For cutting-edge independent art films, downstairs from Taylor Books you’ll find the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema by WVIFF. Each week they program several amazing movies in their intimate viewing room that you aren’t likely to see anywhere else.

Please remember that viral illnesses are still a going concern and many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out. And if you’re at an outdoor event, please remember that it’s awfully inconsiderate to smoke or vape around people who become ill when exposed to that stuff. If somebody asks you to refrain, please respect their weishes and don’t be a jerk about it.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Here we go, roughly in order, it’s graphics for local events happening over the next several days that I was able to scrounge up online…

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Tuesday is NEW RFC DAY The AIR  and today we prove it with a newish episode of Radio Free Charleston to excite and delight you and yours. To listen to The AIR, you simply have to point your cursor over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay here, and  listen to the cool embedded player found elsewhere on this page.  

You can hear Radio Free Charleston Tuesdays at 10 AM and 10 PM, with boatloads of replays throughout the week.

Radio Free Charleston brings you a new show with one brand-new hour, and a special encore of two episodes of Radio Free Charleston Volume Four, from a decade ago. This show is mostly local, West Virginia artists, with a sprinkling of independent musicians just to keep you on your toes.

This week’s reason for digging into the archives that my voice is a bit shot, so I needed a minor break.

Our second and third hours are basically a time capsule of what I was playing on the show a decade ago.

Check out this playlist, with links to the artist’s page in the first hour…

RFC V5 264

hour one
Samuel S.C “Get Red”
The Pistol Whippers “Set It On Fire (live)”
The Holler Hounds “Monster/Martyr”
Best Dressed Ghost “Funhouse”
The Dictators “Backseat Boogie”
Payback’s A Bitch “Stupid Is As Stupid Does (2026 remix)”
Common Ground 304 “To Live And Die In West By God Virginia”
The Charleston Rogues “Whiskey In the Jar”
The Bad Shepherds “Anarchy In The UK”
Logical Fleadh “Lark In The Morning-Gold Ring-The Slammer”
Flea “Maggot Brain”
Sam Robinson “Bienvenue”
Stephanie Adlington “Bootlegger’s Blues”
The Paranoid Style “A Barrier to Entry”
Ann Magnuson “Dead Moth”

hour two
Jeff Ellis and 40 Days “Must Be Something In The Water”
The Laser Beams “The Ballad of Patrick Morrissey”
Strawfyssh “Netted Fish”
Trielement “Accidental Chaos”
Hybrid Soul Project “Stay”
The Science Fair Explosion “Cosmic Girls”
69 Fingers “Average Joe”
The Renfields “Transylvania Fight Song”
Time and Distance “War”
Mother Nang “Peel”
Farnsworth “I’ll Tell You When I’ve Had Enough”
Qiet “Daddy’s Too Old”
Blue Million “Down To A Groove”

hour three
Under Surveillance “Pushed Me Too Far”
Time And Distance “Live A Lie”
Westerberg High “Walking With A Ghost”
Hellblinki “Rust”
Charlie West All Stars “Frankenstein”
Charlie West All Stars “Snortin’ Whiskey” n
The Nanker Phelge “Killer Took A Holiday”
Joe Vallina “Haven’t Got Enough”
QiET “Hirundieans”
Mike Morningstar and Rick Roberts “East End Bar”
Swivels “Chemical City”
The Company Stores “Rollin’ In”
J Marinelli “Acceptable Faces”
Bobaflex “You Don’t Wanna Know”
The Renfields “Forbidden Planet”

You can hear this episode of Radio Free Charleston Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM on The AIR, with replays Wednesday at 9 AM,  Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM, Saturday at Noon and Midnight, Sunday at 8 PM and  Monday at 11 AM, exclusively on The AIR. Now you can also hear a different classic episode of RFC every weekday at 5 PM, and we bring you a marathon all night long Saturday night/Sunday morning.

I’m also going to  embed a low-fi, mono version of this show right in this post, right here so you can listen on demand.

After RFC, stick around for encores of last week’s episodes of  MIRRORBALL at 1 PM and Curtain Call at 2 PM.

At 3 PM get ready for two classic episodes of The Swing Shift.

 You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 8 AM, Thursday at 9 AM,  Friday at 10 AM and 8 PM and Saturday afternoon, only on The AIR . You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursdays and Sundays.

This week’s art is a quick watercolor that’s inspired by parts of a few photos I took on our recent travels. There are bits of Western Pennsylvania, East Liverpool, Ohio and Point Pleasant, West Virginia mingling together there.

This is watercolor on illustration board, and was basically just an exercise in getting my fingers working again after a rough winter/spring of inconsistent weather.

I don’t think this one will be transferred to canvas.

If you want to see this image larger, click HERE.

Meanwhile, over in radioland, Monday beginning at 2 PM on The AIR,  we bring you a classic episode of Psychedelic Shack, and then at 3 PM we do the same with Herman Linte’s weekly showcase of the Progressive Rock of the past half-century, Prognosis.  You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on the embedded radio player elsewhere on this page. Psychedelic Shack can be heard every Monday at 2 PM, with replays Tuesday at 9 AM, Wednesday at 10 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday at 9 AM. You can hear Prognosis on The AIR Monday at 3 PM, with replays Tuesday at 7 AM, Wednesday at 8 PM, Thursday at Noon, and Saturday at 10 AM.

Tonight at 8 PM, tune in for a classic edition of The Comedy Vault, featuring Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner performing the legendary 2000 Year Old Man routines.

Tonight at 9 PM we bring you our Monday night line-up featuring two hours each of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast, plus six hours overnight with an assortment of our programming from Haversham Recording Institute. Tonight’s Curtain Call mini-marathon collects Mel’s two recent episodes devoted to The Book of Mormon, back-to-back.

The Haversham stuff starts at 1 AM and tonight it’s the most recent episodes of all of the Haversham programs.

As promised Friday, today we bring you a video of our trip through Easter Bunny Lane at Kraynak’s in Hermitage, Pennsylvania.

Kraynak’s is a Western Pennsylvania institution, located roughly an hour Northwest of Pittsburgh. For most of the year it’s a a huge store filled with floral supplies, seasonal items and toys and general retail items of a particularly cool nature. At Christmas and Easter, a 300 foot long corridor on the side of the building is transformed into a holiday wonderland, filled with lights, trees, decorations and animatronics.

I told you all this two days ago, and gave you a couple dozen photos, to boot.

Above, with some music from XTC, The Associate and Theocracy, you can get a 14-minute video taste of the Easter Bunny Lane experience, but to be honest, you really need to see it in person to appreciate the scope, the skill and craft and imagination that goes into creating this epic display.

With Easter a week away, we thought it might be a good time to give you a little early treat. Enjoy!

This week we head back to February, 2013 for an eclectic episode of Radio Free Charleston that mixed up some different types of music into a cool package.

For our first musical spot, we harvested an unused song from the previous summer’s “Tribute To The Troops,” and bring you Undersocial with “I Don’t Care.”  Next up, making their RFC debut, we brought you Science of the Mind with “The Sky Is Falling.” Playing us out this week we had another act making their debut on our show, Cat Schrodinger (accompanied by Pepper Fandango).

You can find the original production notes for this show HERE.

The chronological trip through RFC‘s memory lane continues next week, with a special single-performance episode.

The PopCulteer
March 27, 2026

Last year during the holiday season, I brought you photos and video that I took at Kraynak’s Santa’s Christmasland in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. This was a load of fun, and a couple of weeks ago we decided to make a return visit to see what their Easter display was like.

It did not disappoint. Easter Bunny Lane is equal parts adorable and psychotronic.

Just like the Christmas display, we got to see dozens of animatronic figures, with plenty of visual treats, both secular and religious.

Kryanak’s is a Western Pennsylvania institution, located roughly an hour Northwest of Pittsburgh. For most of the year it’s a a huge store filled with floral supplies, seasonal items and toys and general retail items of a particularly cool nature. At Christmas and Easter, a 300 foot long corridor on the side of the building is transformed into a holiday wonderland, filled with lights, trees, decorations and animatronics.

Let me quote from their website:

Kraynak’s was established 1949 in Hermitage, Pa. There are three divisions of the Kraynak business. The first is the main retail store which is the home of Santa’s Christmasland and Easter Bunny Lane. These walk through displays have become a tradition for many families. This location sells Christmas and Easter decorations, toys, gifts, potted plants from the greenhouse and fresh cut flowers from the floral department.

The second division is the Kraynak’s Lawn and Garden center, located 1000ft behind the original store. At this location you may purchase trees, shrubs, garden supplies, and outdoor furniture.

The third division comprises of six nurseries where trees and shrubs are grown for retail and wholesale sales.

Kraynak’s is a family owned business that promotes fair pricing and quality products. Many families over the years have made Kraynak’s their store for all seasons.

That humble description does not do justice to the elaborate and delightfully bizarre holiday displays, which are fully dismantled each year, with completely-new attractions designed and built the next year. Easter Bunny Lane is open to the public every day they’re open until the Monday after Easter. It’s a real treat for young children or adult stoners.

You can see videos of their displays from this year and many previous years HERE.

Here are my photos, presented partly without captions so you can just take in the wonderful visuals. Sunday, I will have some kind of video put together out of what Mel and I shot at Easter Bunny Lane.

The first section is just Easter Bunny Overload, with an earworm jingle that will haunt you for days. We will not include that in the video.

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It’s yet another big weekend filled with STUFF TO DO all around the state of moun-taynes, so let us dig in, shall we?  Remember, I’m just scratching the surface here. Please don’t think this is all there is to offer.

As always, you should remember that THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST OF EVENTS.  It’s just a starting point, so don’t expect anything comprehensive, and if you feel strongly about me leaving anything out, feel free to mention it in the comments.  Also, if you have a show that you’d like to plug in the future, even if your promotional graphic uses cruddy AI art, contact me via Social Media at Facebook, BlueSky , Spoutible, Instagram or Twitter.  I dont charge for this, so you might as well send me something if you have an event to promote.

Our featured event happens this Sunday, and it’s the Closing Reception for Good Business: Andy Warhol’s Screenprints at the Clay Center. You can expect cocktails, sparkly photo ops, and a night of pop art exploration. At 5 PM, the night kicks off with a screening of Inside Pop Art in the Planetarium. Next, Ann Magnuson will share stories from her New York pop art era and Warhol-world experiences. Then the galleries will open up for after-hours exploring. Free Tickets have to be reserved, and for some reason that involves Google Docs (?), but you can follow THIS LINK to sign up.

We are very happy to remind you that Cristen Michael has created an interactive calendar that is way more comprehensive than this list of STUFF TO DO, and you can find it HERE. Just click on the day and the event and you’ll be whisked away to a page with more details about loads of area events.

Most weekends you can find live music at Taylor Books. There is no cover charge, and Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 PM.  Many Sunday afternoons at 2 PM they also have live music. This weekend you can hear Two Roommates on Friday and County Fair, Savs, Max Gall and J.P. Burr on Saturday. Sunday afternoon stop in for Emmalea Deal.

You can find live music in and around town every night of the week. You just have to know where to look.  Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Among the notable music venues in town are The World Famous Empty Glass Cafe, Live at The Shop in Dunbar, Louie’s, at Mardi Gras Casino & Resort, In Huntington, there’s local institution, The Loud (formerly The V Club),  The Wandering Wind Meadery is on Charleston’s West Side, Plus there’s music in Charleston at The Blue Parrot, Sam’s Uptown Cafe and Fife Street Brewing.

You might also find cool musical events at Route 60 Music in Barboursville and Folklore Music Exchange in Charleston.

To hear music in an alcohol-free enviroment, see what’s happening at Pumzi’s, on Charleston’s West Side. March 28th at 7PM come by for an evening with music from Makenna Hope, Chris Sutton, Sasha Colette, Tai Ray, and Sean Richardson.

You can also visit Coal River Coffee in Saint Albans for live music in an alcohol-free environment.

For cutting-edge independent art films, downstairs from Taylor Books you’ll find the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema by WVIFF. Each week they program several amazing movies in their intimate viewing room that you aren’t likely to see anywhere else.

Please remember that viral illnesses are still a going concern and many people who have very good reasons are still wearing masks, and many of us, understandably, are still nervous about being in crowds, masked or not. Be kind and understanding  while you’re out. And if you’re at an outdoor event, please remember that it’s awfully inconsiderate to smoke or vape around people who become ill when exposed to that stuff. If somebody asks you to refrain, please respect their wishes and don’t be a jerk about it.

Keep in mind that all shows are subject to change or be cancelled at the last minute.

Here we go, roughly in order, it’s graphics for local events happening over the next several days that I was able to scrounge up online. Apologies if some of these graphics contain crappy AI art. I don’t condone it, but I’m not going to leave out an event because of the poor judgment of the promoters…

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Wednesday afternoon, The AIR brings you new installments of Curtain Call and Beatles Blast, each of which offer their own distinctly different topic.  You can tune in at the website, or just stay right here and  listen to the convenient embedded radio player lurking elsewhere on this page.

At 2 PM (EDT) Beatles Blast brings you a solid hour of very rarely-heard extended mixes of songs from The Beatles as a group, and solo.

You will hear some wild studio outtakes, rare alternate releases and extended dance mixes. With such long songs, the playlist may look a little short, but rest assured, it’s jam-packed with pure Beatle-y goodness.

Just check out the playlist…

Beatles Blast 130

George Harrison “Got My Mind Set On You”
John Lennon “Well Well Well”
Paul McCartney “Pretty Little Head”
Ringo Starr “Six O’Clock”
The Beatles “You Know My Name”
Paul McCartney “No More Lonely Nights (Playout Version)”
John Lennon “Gimme Some Truth”
Traveling Wilburys “End of the Line”
The Beatles “Revolution 1”

Beatles Blast can be heard every Wednesday at 2 PM, with replays Thursday at 11 PM, Friday at 1 PM,  and Saturday afternoon. A two-hour mini-marathon of classic episodes runs every Monday evening, starting at 11 PM.

At 3 PM (EDT) on Curtain Call, Mel Larch brings you the second of two episodes devoted to The Book of Mormon, which celebrates fifteen years since its Broadway debut this year.  Written by South Park creators Trey Paker and Matt Stone, with music by Robert Lopez, who went on to compose the music for Disney’s Frozen, The Book of Mormon still plays to sellout crowds, and has an ongoing national and international tour. The show is so popular that it played in Charleston twice already.

For these two mixtape/mashup shows, Mel presents the composer demos of some songs right before the version from the original Broadway cast album. You’ll get to see some of the changes made during the creation of the show, with trunk songs, major lyrical changes and different arrangements.  Originally the show took place in Somalia instead of Uganda. That’s why it takes two episodes for the full immersive and not-safe-for-work experience. In this second part, you’ll get to hear even more drastic changes, as some entire songs were jettisoned and replaced with other compostions.

The musical tells the story of two very different Mormon missionaries who find themselves sent to Uganda to spread the word of their holy book. Elder Price and Elder Cunningham find themselves reversing roles as the earnest leader and the perineal screw-up, and they wind up putting a whole new spin on their own unique interpretation of the gospel.

Like I said last week, The Book of Mormon is one of Mel’s absolute favorite shows.

Next Monday at 9 PM you can hear both of these special Book of Mormon episodes of Curtain Call, back to back, on The AIR.

Curtain Call can be heard on The AIR Wednesday at 3 PM, with replays Thursday at 8 AM, Friday at 10 AM, Saturday at 8 PM and Monday at 9 AM. A two-hour mini-marathon of classic episodes can be heard Monday evening starting at 9 PM, and an all-night marathon of Curtain Call episodes can be heard Wednesday nights, beginning at Midnight.