Review - Leap of Faith

Hi everybody!  I’ve got a jam-packed theater week coming up!  I’m getting tired just thinking about it!  ;)   Last night, I saw Leap of Faith via a TDF ticket.  My seat was great, about twelve rows back, on the side/off-center aisle.  Word of warning: it is FREEZING in that theater!  Thank heavens I had a trusty scarf with me!

Well, really, all I need to say about the show is—Raul Esparza wears leather pants.  Thumbs up.

Thank you.  I hope you enjoyed the review.  J   OK, OK, I’ll go on.  But Raul is beyond hot. 

Anyway, I had a good-enough time at the show, but I think it could be a whole lot better.  I’m not sure the framing device that they’re using really works; it might make more sense to just tell the story chronologically.  But maybe not.  I don’t know.  I’m actually puzzling over why the show wasn’t totally successful for me.  I like the basic premise.  I like the actors.  The songs (by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater) were fine, though (oddly enough for a musical) I think there may be too many of them.  At least, there are too many songs that sound alike.  The gospel numbers all ran together for me.  I preferred the gospel music in Menken’s Sister Act to this, though Leap of Faith’s quieter numbers, away from the revival tent, were quite nice.   There were a couple of times, though, where I understood and agreed with the sentiment and placement of the song, but I didn’t like the actual song.  Does that make sense?  And at intermission, I found myself humming “Skid Row” from Little Shop, which may mean I got a generic Menken feel out of this music.

Apparently, the earlier production that they did of Leap of Faith in LA caused the producers to bring in Warren Leight as a co-librettist.  I generally like Warren’s work, but I didn’t really get a sense of him here.  The book was pretty generic.  And though I appreciated the script’s not going with the “laughline-a-minute” technique that a lot of movies-to-musicals use, I could’ve used a bit of a lighter touch.  And more character development.  We’re thrown a lot of character information and are just supposed to run with it.  One or two more book scenes might’ve helped with that.  As it was, I didn’t really get engaged until about fifteen minutes before the end of the first act.  That’s a long wait.  The second act works better, I think, because there are more character songs and less gospel songs.  I will say I was moved at the end – even though you can see the ending coming a mile away (I didn’t see the original Steve Martin movie).  I was also a tad confused with the character monologues (which didn't really illuminate the characters) - some of them seemed to take place in the 'now' and some seemed to be in the 'then,' which I found odd.  Perhaps it's because I wasn't fully on board with the framing device...

I thought the direction was pretty disjointed – actors seemed at times to be wandering around the stage aimlessly and without a sense of space co-existing with the set design.  The choreography was hot and cold for me – I really liked a couple of the group numbers, but I didn’t like the choir choreography.  And I hated the costumes.  HATED them (well, except for the leather pants, of course).  And I’m normally not one to really notice costumes.

The cast was excellent, starting and ending with boyfriend Raul.  He’s just electric and has a wonderful character arc and lovely chemistry with his co-stars.  His 11:00 number is amazing.  He owns the stage and this is really his show, all the way.  I think he flubbed some lyrics towards the end of the show, but charmingly kept going until he was back on track.  Jessica Phillips (who took over for Brooke Shields from the LA production) is fine as our leading lady, though she could use a little more character development.  Her big solo in the second act is terrific, though.  A friend of mine from undergrad is making her Broadway debut in a small role, so hooray for her!  I got pretty choked up seeing her beautiful face on that stage.  Leslie Odom Jr as the rival evangelist was terrific, as was Kecia Lewis-Evans as his mom.  I also thought the boy playing the disabled son, Talon Ackerman, was quite good.  Maybe that character is the way into the story.  Hmmm.  Let me think on that…

So, to sum up, I had a perfectly pleasant evening, watching tremendously talented people share their talent and work their butts off.  If the material wasn’t yet quite up to their talent, well, ok.  I hear they’re still working on the first act, so maybe Warren can find a way to strengthen those characters without slowing down the story.  The show doesn’t open until April 26, so there seems to be time to tinker.  I will take a leap of faith with Warren.  :)  But Raul, and those leather pants, are rocking the house.