"Leap of Faith" - 4/14 Mat

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Posted: 4/16/12 at 9:06am

I will say right up front that I got comps to this show and went in with extremely low expectations, especially having heard from a lot of friends in LA about how terrible it was.

Having said that, I have to admit that I kind of had a great time at "Leap of Faith" this past Saturday. Now, is this the kind of show that will change the landscape of American musical theater? No. But, it is a really fun guilty pleasure show that is sometimes so goofy that you have to just grin.

I am a huge Raul Esparza fan (the main reason I went at all), and while he was good, this was by no means his best performance to date. He was outshone by many other performers, especially Kecia Lewis-Evans (who just sang the crap out of every song) and Kendra Kassenbaum. Jessica Phillips was also quite good, but the role isn't really written as well as it could be so she is a bit hamstrung in where she can go with it.

The score is very peppy (as most Alan Menken scores are), and the title song is really strong. The duet in Act One "I Can Read You" is actually really cute and the Act Two fork in the road song "Are You on the Bus" allows for some pretty great vocals. Not the best score in the world, but it really works for the world that Christopher Ashley has created. The revival-atmosphere that he has created seems silly at first, but proves to be quite effective.

Also, I won't spoil it for the people who haven't seen it yet but there is a great effect at the end of the show that had everyone in the theater buzzing about it afterwards.

So, as weird as it is for me to say (and it is. I'm really more of a "Next to Normal" and "Caroline, or Change" person), I had a really good time at "Leap of Faith". It's the kind of show I would send my relatives to go see because I know they would have a blast. And even stranger, in a season of fairly weak new musicals I think it has a pretty decent shot at the Tonys. Go ahead and call me a shill if you like, but that's what I honestly think...