The musical comedy “The Book of Mormon” returns to Portland for a two-week run starting Jan. 12. This follows previous successful stops in the Rose City in 2013 and 2014.

The religious satire’s plot follows two young Mormon missionaries who are sent to Uganda to try and convert citizens to their religion. One missionary, Elder Price, is an enthusiastic go-getter with a strong dedication to his faith. His partner, Elder Cunningham, is an insecure nerd whose tendency to embroider the truth (along with the fact he has never read the actual “Book of Mormon”) soon land him in trouble.

Upon their arrival in Africa, Elders Price and Cunningham learn that in a society plagued by AIDS, poverty and violence, a successful mission may not be as easy as they expected.

When trying to come up with the subject for a musical comedy, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might not be the most obvious choice. But Emmy and Tony Award-winners Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of the animated comedy “South Park,” saw it as fertile ground. After all, it worked pretty well when The Salvation Army was featured in the 1950 musical “Guys and Dolls,” and Parker and Stone’s perverse musical-theater spoofs are centerpieces of numerous “South Park” episodes.

They teamed with Tony, Emmy, Grammy and Oscar Award-winner Robert Lopez, the co-composer and lyricist of the grown-up puppet musical “Avenue Q” and Disney’s “Frozen” and spent around seven years developing “The Book of Mormon” before the show premiered on Broadway in March 2011. It went on to win nine Tony Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.

In typical Stone and Parker fashion, the dialogue and songs in “The Book of Mormon” are riddled with obscenities and are “unapologetically rude,” as a New York Times review by Dave Itzkoff stated. Yet despite all that, the same review concluded the show is still “sweet” and “unexpectedly sentimental.” Perhaps that’s why the Mormon church did not take a hard line against it and even advertised in the Broadway program.

“The Book of Mormon” runs Jan. 12 to 24 with 16 performances at Portland’s Keller Auditorium. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, with additional matinees at 1 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Ticket prices range from $55 to $150 each. No student or senior discounts are offered.

Contact: www.BroadwayinPortland.com, the Portland Opera Box Office at 866-739-6737, or the Portland’5 Box Office at 800-273-1530.

— Reporter: 541-383-0350, khimstreet@bendbulletin.com