Interesting phenomenon: fan revisions- Page 2

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 5:28pm

And some people need to learn to butt out. There was a message for you at the top of the OP. Be a good fly, and buzz off.

[jwsel]

Posted: 6/21/13 at 6:26pm

Well, let's hear it, jwsel. How would you have fixed it?

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I sent a much longer version of my ideas about Leap of Faith's book to g.d.e.l.g.i via PM. It had a complete synopsis with the placement of all the songs (keeping the entire score, though some songs were moved and a couple would need relatively minor lyric changes), but here is a briefer description of the flaws I wanted to address and a shorter overview of how I would revise the show.

Spoilers for Leap of Faith follow









I think the biggest problem with Leap of Faith is with the main character. The writers seem unable to decide if the audience is supposed to like Jonas or not. Is he a total bastard who should be irredeemable or is he someone who is scared and hurt, but good underneath the slick veneer that he uses as a protective shell? In other words, does he only do bad things to keep people from seeing the real Jonas? At times, we get the good guy -- he relates to the kid, he is falling for the sheriff, etc. But then he'll act like a total dick, for instance, when he threatens Isaiah that he'll kick Ida Mae and Ornella out of the Angels at the end of Are You On The Bus? The problem is that the threat carries no real weight because we don't know if Jonas is truly enough of a bastard to carry through with it. So the threat creates no real dramatic tension. And that is a problem with much of the narrative -- there is no real dramatic tension to the plot and nothing really forces Jonas' big epiphany at the end.

The show could have been greatly improved by making it clear that Jonas is essentially a lost boy -- a man who hides his terror of being abandoned behind a wall of cynicism and uses his natural charms to exploit others. But that boy is still good underneath. He wants to love Marla and he wants to protect Jake, but he is terrified of being hurt by opening up.

Where the drama could have come from is by improving the badly underwritten role of his sister, Sam. Make her older, not younger. Have her be the puppet master. She could be the one who is in charge of the show. Since, unlike in the movie, she doesn't have a love interest, she can be the proponent of an "us versus the world" mentality. She can feed Jonas' fear of abandonment and exploit his natural skills as a con artist for a profit. She can be shown to love Jonas, but she doesn't have any romanticism or ideals. And she would see the threat that Marla and Jake pose to the life she has created with Jonas.

The other role that doesn't work is Isaiah. I understand the idea of having a true believer, but as written, Isaiah comes across as a pontificating, inflexible prick. There is a point where he is preaching about how great and devout his father was and Ida Mae snaps back about how cold the man was. She makes a strong point that Isaiah's father may have been devout, but what was the point when nobody went to his church? But it's as if it never registers, because Isaiah then goes to Jonas and pontificates about his father some more. In my idea, Isaiah would learn there is nothing necessarily wrong with a little"con" if it helps people to believe. (This also would make it more logical for Isaiah to take over as the preacher of the revival. It is hard to believe that would work in the current show when Jonas suggests it to Sam because Isaiah is such a hard-ass.)

So a very broad overview would have Sam as the power behind the scenes, with Jonas as its face. He is bound to her by loyalty and fear of the world that hurt him as a child, but conflicted when he meets Marla (who has given up believing in dreams) and bonds with Jake (who Jonas identifies with due to their similar backgrounds yet still has strong faith). Isaiah arrives and stirs up trouble, eventually revealing the secrets of the con to Marla, before he comes to the realization that maybe there is some good that comes from the revival. Although he now regrets what he has done, it's too late. Marla has tried to get Jonas to reform, but his fear and loyalty has pushed him back to Sam, so Marla goes directly to Sam before the final night of the revival (when she and Jonas have promised the town a big "miracle"). Marla tries to get Sam to let Jonas go or else she will arrest them both. Sam tries to get Jonas to leave town, but he feels compelled to stay, because he promised Marla a "miracle" and he thinks they can at least give her back her hope. That sets the stage for the final night of the revival. As the revival begins, Sam bolts, abandoning Jonas and forcing him to stand on his own for the first time. Although he should fail and the "miracle" can't happen without Sam, the opposite happens. Jonas somehow still manages to know things about people, Marla (who sees Sam flee) and Isaiah are stunned when they discover that nobody is feeding Jonas information, and Jake is cured of his paralysis in a far bigger miracle than the fake one Jonas and Sam had planned. Panicked by what he has experienced, Jonas tosses away his jacket and flees the tent. Alone, he tries to figure out what happened, breaks down, and asks God for a sign of something to believe in -- just as Marla approaches him. Isaiah and the Angels then come out of the tent, with Isaiah carrying Jonas' jacket, but Jonas refuses it -- he's done. Isaiah, having seen that God may not frown on theatrics, puts on the jacket and Jonas says that they will probably find Sam in Topeka and she should know that things worked out for the better. That would then lead into the finale, as Jonas and Marla commit to take a "leap of faith" with one another and the rain finally comes to Sweetwater.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 6/21/13 at 7:31pm

See? Good thing I encouraged you to post it. For the record, having seen the full synopsis, jwsel actually created a show around the fairly decent score to Leap of Faith that I might find gripping and entertaining, as opposed to the seemingly endless gospel concert that played Broadway.

I said I'd throw one of mine in the mix, so here goes. Like I alluded to in one of my posts above, I kind of see Jekyll & Hyde's commercial appeal. To say that I like it is to overstate my opinion. Hell, to say that I tolerate it is to overstate my opinion. But, strapped with an overwritten pop score as it is, I see why it would appeal to people in a sort of Phantom or Les Mis vein.

And I was looking forward to the recently shuttered Broadway revival because I hoped that we were getting something new and fascinating, a fresh approach to the show not unlike the Resurrection recording, which would cause the broad public to reevaluate the show following its original Broadway reception. I thought they'd remember who they were casting (Constantine Maroulis is primarily known for rock rather than pop/theatrical sounds) and the most recent iteration in the public eye (Resurrection), and create a show focusing on that. (Okay, so I have high hopes sometimes. Sue me.) What we got was an older version of the show with some subplots snipped, a few lyric changes, a few random key changes within songs, and some more editing that I thought kind of hurt it.

So, aiming for something closer to the Gothic thriller they intended based on the subtitle of the Warlow recording, I took a look at the FCLO script (which really streamlined the show) and just made a few nips and tucks that made me feel more comfortable about how the show ran, and reflected the Resurrection changes. I'll spare you the synopsis, and just post a song list. (If you want the full thing, hit me up.)

ACT ONE
Prologue / I Need to Know . . . . . . . . . Jekyll
Façade . . . . . . . . . Company
Jekyll's Plea . . . . . . . . . Jekyll & Board of Governors
Stride's Apology . . . . . . . . . Stride
Pursue the Truth / Façade (Reprise) . . . . . . . . . Jekyll, Utterson, Company
Emma's Reasons . . . . . . . . . Stride, Emma
I Must Go On . . . . . . . . . Jekyll, Emma
Take Me as I Am . . . . . . . . . Jekyll, Emma
Stride's Confession . . . . . . . . . Stride
Bring on the Men . . . . . . . . . Lucy & Girls
Lucy Meets Jekyll . . . . . . . . . Lucy, Jekyll
The Girls of the Night . . . . . . . . . Lucy, Nellie & Girls
Now There Is No Choice . . . . . . . . . Jekyll
This Is the Moment . . . . . . . . . Jekyll
Transformation . . . . . . . . . Jekyll/Hyde
Alive . . . . . . . . . Hyde
If You Only Knew . . . . . . . . . Emma
Sympathy, Tenderness . . . . . . . . . Lucy
Someone Like You . . . . . . . . . Lucy
Alive (Reprise) . . . . . . . . . Hyde

ACT TWO
Murder, Murder . . . . . . . . . Company
Once Upon a Dream . . . . . . . . . Emma
No One Knows Who I Am . . . . . . . . . Lucy
It's A Dangerous Game . . . . . . . . . Lucy, Hyde
Reflections (Jekyll's Soliloquy) . . . . . . . . . Jekyll
In His Eyes . . . . . . . . . Emma, Lucy
The Way Back . . . . . . . . . Jekyll
A New Life . . . . . . . . . Lucy
Sympathy, Tenderness (Reprise) . . . . . . . . . Hyde
The World Has Gone Insane . . . . . . . . . Jekyll
Confrontation . . . . . . . . . Jekyll/Hyde
Façade (Reprise) . . . . . . . . . Stride, Company
Letting Go . . . . . . . . . Sir Danvers, Emma
The Wedding . . . . . . . . . Jekyll, Emma, Company
Once Upon a Dream (Reprise) . . . . . . . . . Emma, Jekyll, Lucy

Updated On: 6/22/13 at 07:31 PM