Yeah, being a musical with Christian themes helped GODSPELL, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, SISTER ACT, LEAP OF FAITH and SCANDALOUS.
Of course, there were many other factors to each of those productions' relative misfortunes. But the "Christian themes" argument doesn't look too good in their wake. Meanwhile, THE BOOK OF MORMON hasn't played to an empty seat since it opened...
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.