#1
The New York Times:
Sneaky Preacher, Without a Prayer
by Ben Brantley
Say amen, somebody. Or, better yet, just whimper the word. We’ve finally come to the end of a hard-run overcrowded spring on Broadway. And here, to sound the final trumpet, is one last musical, a show that appropriately expresses how many a dedicated theatergoer must be feeling right now: plumb tuckered out.
Praise the Lord, and pass the amphetamines. “Leap of Faith,” which opened on Thursday night at the St. James Theater, uses the religious revival meeting as both its subject and its form. Yet reviving (or revivifying or inspiriting) is hardly the right adjective for it. Starring Raúl Esparza and based on the 1992 movie of the same title, “Leap of Faith” is this season’s black hole of musical comedy, sucking the energy out of anyone who gets near it.
That includes its unfortunate cast. It’s not that the ensemble members, directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, don’t work up a sweat, clappin’ their hands and slappin’ their thighs and raisin’ their voices. But you can feel that the force isn’t with them. As its title promises, “Leap of Faith” has a fair amount of leaping. The faith part is another matter.
Featuring songs by Alan Menken (music) and Glenn Slater (lyrics), with a book by Janus Cercone and Warren Leight, “Leap of Faith” tells the redemptive story of Jonas Nightingale (Mr. Esparza), a con-man evangelist who is forced to re-examine his wicked ways. (Well, maybe it’s a redemptive story; it’s typical of the show’s bad faith that it hedges its bets.)
Jonas (who was portrayed by Steve Martin in the film) is a figure with a long and nobly ignoble ancestry in the theater, the irresistible charlatan. He’s a type whose very existence depends on his ability to charm a crowd, to whip up emotions, to make us suspend disbelief. He is, in other words, showbiz incarnate.
Celebrated variations on this scam artist have been deployed for purposes sentimental (the title characters of “The Music Man” and “The Rainmaker”), cynical (the grandstanding lawyer Billy Flynn in “Chicago”) and somewhere in between (the leading louts of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”). But wherever their hearts lie, these great pretenders can usually be relied on to raise the adrenaline in a room.
If they’re really well portrayed, especially on the stage, they operate on several levels at once, as deceivers (that is, actors) playing deceivers who get caught up in their own deceptions. Such performances leave us dizzy, giddy and feeling darn lucky that we’ve been had.
Mr. Esparza would seem to be a natural for such a part. His onstage energy quotient is usually off the charts. He was terrific as the forked-lightning-tongued studio executive in the 2008 revival of David Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow” and, in a more introspective mode, as the commitment-fearing urbanite in John Doyle’s 2006 production of “Company.” Artfully mix traits from each and, in theory, you’d come up with Jonas Nightingale, a self-questioning seller of hope.
Yet here Mr. Esparza seems to keep a chilly distance from his character, and you realize the degree to which self-consciousness has always been a part of his performances. In “Faith” doubt emanates from his every pore, from his contemptuously curled mouth to his fast robotic line readings. This is not, to put it mildly, the right frame of mind for selling religion from a revival tent (designed by Robin Wagner).
The people that Jonas — aided by his manager and kid sister, Sam (Kendra Kassebaum) — is trying to dupe are the citizens of Sweetwater, Kan., a cornfed place crippled by drought and unemployment. Though the townsfolk don’t have much money, Jonas is convinced that he and his choir, the Angels of Mercy (led by Ida Mae Sturdevant, played by Kecia Lewis-Evans) can induce them to pour what little they have into his collection plates.
One hitch, though. There’s a skeptic in Sweetwater, a beautiful woman who has gone for too long without love. Shades of Marian the librarian! But Marla McGowan (Jessica Phillips, who looks and acts as if she has just been dry-cleaned) is no book tender but the town sheriff, who has the power to put Jonas in jail.
She also has a 13-year-old son, brave little Jake (Talon Ackerman), who has lost the use of his legs in the car accident that conveniently took the life of Marla’s husband. Jake believes in miracles, and Jake believes in Jonas.
Say, you ain’t buying this guff, are you? Well, maybe you would if anyone onstage seemed to. I still shed a tear or two whenever the 1962 film of “The Music Man,” starring Robert Preston, shows up on television. But “Faith” recycles its clichés without a shred of true conviction.
Its jokes, its romantic scenes, its dance numbers, its interchangeable songs by Mr. Menken (also represented on Broadway this season by the hyper-peppy “Newsies the Musical” ) all feel as if they had been pasted into place the night before. (An example of what passes for wit in Mr. Slater’s lyrics: “Honey, even Helen Keller could see through you.”)
Even the pacing of the show is self-defeating. No sooner does a dance number start to get a groove on — as in “Dancin’ in the Devil’s Shoes” led by the appealing Leslie Odom Jr., and Krystal Joy Brown — than it changes direction and peters out.
Gospel is not Mr. Esparza’s strong suit. When he belts out raise-your-hands invocations to divinity, he sounds like a second-tier Tina Turner impersonator. He at last comes into his own in the show’s penultimate number, the ardently delivered “Jonas’ Soliloquy,” in which he begs, “Give me something to believe in.”
The audience has been silently asking the same thing for the previous two hours. But in “Leap of Faith” that prayer remains unanswered.
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USA Today:
'Leap of Faith' doesn't quite soar
by Elysa Gardner
In the musical production that opened Thursday at the St. James Theatre, a slick con man and serial seducer arrives in a small town, intent on swindling the local folk for all they're worth. He nearly succeeds, but ends up falling for the smart, lonely woman who's on to him.
No, it's not a revival of The Music Man; it's the new Leap of Faith (* * ½ out of four), based on the 1992 film of the same name. And while it's a more imaginative and entertaining film adaptation than another recent Broadway entry, Ghost the Musical, Faith hardly seems destined for the American musical-theater canon.
In the movie, Steve Martin played Jonas Nightingale, a phony preacher who gets stuck with his wily female sidekick in drought-addled Kansas. Conflicts emerge when Jonas and the sidekick develop feelings for, respectively, a jaded waitress and the disapproving town sheriff.
The musical — with a book by original screenwriter Janus Cercone and Side Man playwright Warren Leight— fuses the latter two characters into a female sheriff, Marla, whose son, confined to a wheelchair after a car accident, takes a shine to Jonas. (The boy was the waitress' younger brother on screen, and used leg braces.) The sidekick is now Jonas's sister, and thus shares the troubled family background that led him to a life of fraud; and we learn more about a few of the singing "Angels of Mercy" who abet them.
The show is also set in the present, and begins and ends with Jonas addressing theatergoers, narrating his own tale of sin and redemption. Revival meetings are reflected on TV screens as actors rush through the aisles, chatting and seeking donations. (Funny money is distributed in the orchestra section before the curtain.)
The result is an odd, uneasy mix of souped-up razzle-dazzle and earnest romantic drama, each of which can be affecting at points. Leading man Raul Esparza, one of Broadway's most naturally charismatic performers, gives Jonas a human side to juxtapose his cheesy stage persona; he and Jessica Phillips, as Marla, can actually seem like sensitive, intelligent adults.
Jonas and Marla's unlikely courtship is saddled with some too-cute touches, though. Glenn Slater provides winking, metaphor-laden lyrics for their duets. ("Even Helen Keller could see through you," she sings to him at one point.) The better songs showcase composer Alan Menken's enduring melodic savvy and ability to fold gospel and R&B textures into show tunes with relative grace.
Like many contemporary musicals, Faith ultimately works best as a showcase for its talented cast. The excellent players also include Kecia Lewis-Evans, who as one of Jonas' Angels brings dynamism and dignity to the stock supporting role of big-voiced earth mama. As her grown son and daughter, Leslie Odom, Jr. and Krystal Joy Brown both prove supple singers and fluid dancers.
Their contributions help lift Faith above its uneven aspects and become, if not a rapturous experience, a compelling curiosity.
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New York Daily News
Raul Esparza's a blessing as fake healer, but Broadway musical hasn't got a prayer
by Joe
** (out of 5)
Jeez, even the climactic thunderstorm is a letdown in “Leap of Faith.” You can see the water jets — where’s the fun in that?
Sorry if that’s a spoiler, but nothing happens in this frustrating and manipulative new Broadway musical based on a 1992 Steve Martin movie you don’t see coming a mile away.
What is surprising is how infrequently songs by Alan Menken (music) and Glenn Slater (lyrics) make you sit up and take notice.
Is this the same duo that packed “Sister Act” with tasty disco-pop tunes The composer who wrote the memorable melodies for “Newsies”? It is.
There are some rousing, albeit repetitive, gospel numbers, each accompanied by Sergio Trujillo’s gyrating dancing. And the sweet country-and-Western-flavored “Long Past Dreamin’” is a real keeper. Otherwise, the score is as striking as dust in a drought-ravaged Kansas town.
That’s where phony faith healer Jonas Nightingale (Raul Esparza, of “Company” and “Arcadia”) and his band of “angels” pitch their tent after a bus breakdown. They’re soon fleecing poor local yokels in their revival meetings.
Enter sheriff Marla McGowan (a likable low-key Jessica Phillips). She’s got Nightingale’s number, but she’s also a lonely widow with a disabled son, Jake (Talon Ackerman), turned on by Jonas and his many sleeveless T-shirts. “Smart Women, Foolish Choices” was a non-issue when Liam Neeson wore the badge on the big screen in 1992.
Te sex change is one of several tweaks by Janus Cercone, who wrote the original screenplay, and Warren Leight. Now, Jonas has a sister, Sam (Kendra Kassebaum), and a boo-hoo childhood to lend a shred of psychological background. Unfortunately, there are also too many secondary characters and gaps in logic, such as Jonas’ gang not knowing he’s a con man. Huh?
Director Christopher Ashley has previously done fine work guiding “Memphis” and “All Shook Up.” But he doesn’t get a handle on this production, which he inherited after a 2010 Los Angeles tryout. It feels out of sync.
Ragtag “angels” look so slick that they could’ve come from blowouts and seaweed wraps at a spa. Even the always reliable William Ivey Long has fashioned costumes that are head-scratchers. Kassebaum’s Stevie Nicks-style frock cries out for an exorcism.
As the flimflammer in the mirror-ball jacket at the center of all of this, Esparza is full of the devil. He pushes his vocals to the roof, sometimes squeezing his pipes into Patti LaBelle squeals. He stalks the stage with pursed lips and the look-at-me swagger of Mick Jagger. Esparza goes big, bold and a little buggy, but he’s never boring.
While he’s at it, he joins the roster of con men from better Broadway musicals, including “The Music Man” and “110 in the Shade.” Esparza’s not a miracle worker; he can’t save the show. But he gives it his all, and that rates an amen.
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The New York Post:
Celebrate ‘Leap’ here
by Elisabeth Vincentelli
*** (out of 4)
Even if you haven’t caught the movie it’s based on, you can see everything coming a mile away in “Leap of Faith.” The only surprise in this predictable, mushy new Broadway musical is how ridiculously fun it is.
The odds were bad, as the show arrived in a cloud of negative buzz: The original director was ditched in California, along with leading lady Brooke Shields. There were rumors that star Raul Esparza (“Company”) was too sinister as Jonas Nightingale, the sham faith healer played by a convivial Steve Martin in the 1992 film.
And the truth is, he kinda is.
Bamboozling the citizens of a small Kansas town at a raucous tent revival, Esparza’s Jonas, strapped in a stylish black suit, looks like Satan’s little helper.
And yet you can also see why the good people of Sweetwater would so eagerly swallow Jonas’ hooks: He’s got some bright, snazzy lures.
First, our man does appear to have a divine gift for reading his marks. That’s only because his Googling whiz sister, Sam (Kendra Kassebaum), secretly feeds him intel.
But the real reason for his success is that those traveling missionaries bring on some serious showmanship, snappily directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo.
Esparza is a charismatic bandleader, and he tirelessly sells the peppy pop-gospel songs by Disney stalwart Alan Menken and Glenn Slater — the team that also brought us “Sister Act” and its freakishly similar inspirational numbers. A rousing backup choir called the Angels of Mercy helps.
Aside from stick-in-the-mud theatergoers, the only one who remains unconvinced by this high-energy roof-raising is the sheriff, Marla McGowan (Jessica Phillips).
This sexy heathen in skintight jeans also happens to be a widow with a young son, Jake (Talon Ackerman), who’s in a wheelchair. Oh, and Sweetwater is experiencing a severe drought. There is zero suspense as to what’s going to happen — Janus Cercone and Warren Leight’s book never strays from the obvious — yet the show manages to be satisfying.
Marla quickly susses out that beneath his sparkly jackets, Jonas is a troubled soul. “Someone, somewhere hurt you bad,” she sings with insight worthy of “The Mentalist.”
Marla isn’t the only obstacle Jonas and his Angels face on the way to their foretold redemption. Another is Isaiah (the fantastic Leslie Odom Jr.), the righteous son of Angels bookkeeper and star belter Ida Mae (Kecia Lewis-Evans).
Rest assured that everybody eventually comes around in one way or another. This isn’t a Disney production, but it might as well be.
If there’s a lesson in “Leap of Faith,” it’s that high-energy entertainment is the perfect sweetener: It makes everything go down, whether it’s a rascally preacher or a Broadway musical with a clunky book.
_____________
Posted: 4/26/12 at 10:40pm
The New York Times:
Sneaky Preacher, Without a Prayer
by Ben Brantley
Say amen, somebody. Or, better yet, just whimper the word. We’ve finally come to the end of a hard-run overcrowded spring on Broadway. And here, to sound the final trumpet, is one last musical, a show that appropriately expresses how many a dedicated theatergoer must be feeling right now: plumb tuckered out.
Praise the Lord, and pass the amphetamines. “Leap of Faith,” which opened on Thursday night at the St. James Theater, uses the religious revival meeting as both its subject and its form. Yet reviving (or revivifying or inspiriting) is hardly the right adjective for it. Starring Raúl Esparza and based on the 1992 movie of the same title, “Leap of Faith” is this season’s black hole of musical comedy, sucking the energy out of anyone who gets near it.
That includes its unfortunate cast. It’s not that the ensemble members, directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, don’t work up a sweat, clappin’ their hands and slappin’ their thighs and raisin’ their voices. But you can feel that the force isn’t with them. As its title promises, “Leap of Faith” has a fair amount of leaping. The faith part is another matter.
Featuring songs by Alan Menken (music) and Glenn Slater (lyrics), with a book by Janus Cercone and Warren Leight, “Leap of Faith” tells the redemptive story of Jonas Nightingale (Mr. Esparza), a con-man evangelist who is forced to re-examine his wicked ways. (Well, maybe it’s a redemptive story; it’s typical of the show’s bad faith that it hedges its bets.)
Jonas (who was portrayed by Steve Martin in the film) is a figure with a long and nobly ignoble ancestry in the theater, the irresistible charlatan. He’s a type whose very existence depends on his ability to charm a crowd, to whip up emotions, to make us suspend disbelief. He is, in other words, showbiz incarnate.
Celebrated variations on this scam artist have been deployed for purposes sentimental (the title characters of “The Music Man” and “The Rainmaker”), cynical (the grandstanding lawyer Billy Flynn in “Chicago”) and somewhere in between (the leading louts of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”). But wherever their hearts lie, these great pretenders can usually be relied on to raise the adrenaline in a room.
If they’re really well portrayed, especially on the stage, they operate on several levels at once, as deceivers (that is, actors) playing deceivers who get caught up in their own deceptions. Such performances leave us dizzy, giddy and feeling darn lucky that we’ve been had.
Mr. Esparza would seem to be a natural for such a part. His onstage energy quotient is usually off the charts. He was terrific as the forked-lightning-tongued studio executive in the 2008 revival of David Mamet’s “Speed-the-Plow” and, in a more introspective mode, as the commitment-fearing urbanite in John Doyle’s 2006 production of “Company.” Artfully mix traits from each and, in theory, you’d come up with Jonas Nightingale, a self-questioning seller of hope.
Yet here Mr. Esparza seems to keep a chilly distance from his character, and you realize the degree to which self-consciousness has always been a part of his performances. In “Faith” doubt emanates from his every pore, from his contemptuously curled mouth to his fast robotic line readings. This is not, to put it mildly, the right frame of mind for selling religion from a revival tent (designed by Robin Wagner).
The people that Jonas — aided by his manager and kid sister, Sam (Kendra Kassebaum) — is trying to dupe are the citizens of Sweetwater, Kan., a cornfed place crippled by drought and unemployment. Though the townsfolk don’t have much money, Jonas is convinced that he and his choir, the Angels of Mercy (led by Ida Mae Sturdevant, played by Kecia Lewis-Evans) can induce them to pour what little they have into his collection plates.
One hitch, though. There’s a skeptic in Sweetwater, a beautiful woman who has gone for too long without love. Shades of Marian the librarian! But Marla McGowan (Jessica Phillips, who looks and acts as if she has just been dry-cleaned) is no book tender but the town sheriff, who has the power to put Jonas in jail.
She also has a 13-year-old son, brave little Jake (Talon Ackerman), who has lost the use of his legs in the car accident that conveniently took the life of Marla’s husband. Jake believes in miracles, and Jake believes in Jonas.
Say, you ain’t buying this guff, are you? Well, maybe you would if anyone onstage seemed to. I still shed a tear or two whenever the 1962 film of “The Music Man,” starring Robert Preston, shows up on television. But “Faith” recycles its clichés without a shred of true conviction.
Its jokes, its romantic scenes, its dance numbers, its interchangeable songs by Mr. Menken (also represented on Broadway this season by the hyper-peppy “Newsies the Musical” ) all feel as if they had been pasted into place the night before. (An example of what passes for wit in Mr. Slater’s lyrics: “Honey, even Helen Keller could see through you.”)
Even the pacing of the show is self-defeating. No sooner does a dance number start to get a groove on — as in “Dancin’ in the Devil’s Shoes” led by the appealing Leslie Odom Jr., and Krystal Joy Brown — than it changes direction and peters out.
Gospel is not Mr. Esparza’s strong suit. When he belts out raise-your-hands invocations to divinity, he sounds like a second-tier Tina Turner impersonator. He at last comes into his own in the show’s penultimate number, the ardently delivered “Jonas’ Soliloquy,” in which he begs, “Give me something to believe in.”
The audience has been silently asking the same thing for the previous two hours. But in “Leap of Faith” that prayer remains unanswered.
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USA Today:
'Leap of Faith' doesn't quite soar
by Elysa Gardner
In the musical production that opened Thursday at the St. James Theatre, a slick con man and serial seducer arrives in a small town, intent on swindling the local folk for all they're worth. He nearly succeeds, but ends up falling for the smart, lonely woman who's on to him.
No, it's not a revival of The Music Man; it's the new Leap of Faith (* * ½ out of four), based on the 1992 film of the same name. And while it's a more imaginative and entertaining film adaptation than another recent Broadway entry, Ghost the Musical, Faith hardly seems destined for the American musical-theater canon.
In the movie, Steve Martin played Jonas Nightingale, a phony preacher who gets stuck with his wily female sidekick in drought-addled Kansas. Conflicts emerge when Jonas and the sidekick develop feelings for, respectively, a jaded waitress and the disapproving town sheriff.
The musical — with a book by original screenwriter Janus Cercone and Side Man playwright Warren Leight— fuses the latter two characters into a female sheriff, Marla, whose son, confined to a wheelchair after a car accident, takes a shine to Jonas. (The boy was the waitress' younger brother on screen, and used leg braces.) The sidekick is now Jonas's sister, and thus shares the troubled family background that led him to a life of fraud; and we learn more about a few of the singing "Angels of Mercy" who abet them.
The show is also set in the present, and begins and ends with Jonas addressing theatergoers, narrating his own tale of sin and redemption. Revival meetings are reflected on TV screens as actors rush through the aisles, chatting and seeking donations. (Funny money is distributed in the orchestra section before the curtain.)
The result is an odd, uneasy mix of souped-up razzle-dazzle and earnest romantic drama, each of which can be affecting at points. Leading man Raul Esparza, one of Broadway's most naturally charismatic performers, gives Jonas a human side to juxtapose his cheesy stage persona; he and Jessica Phillips, as Marla, can actually seem like sensitive, intelligent adults.
Jonas and Marla's unlikely courtship is saddled with some too-cute touches, though. Glenn Slater provides winking, metaphor-laden lyrics for their duets. ("Even Helen Keller could see through you," she sings to him at one point.) The better songs showcase composer Alan Menken's enduring melodic savvy and ability to fold gospel and R&B textures into show tunes with relative grace.
Like many contemporary musicals, Faith ultimately works best as a showcase for its talented cast. The excellent players also include Kecia Lewis-Evans, who as one of Jonas' Angels brings dynamism and dignity to the stock supporting role of big-voiced earth mama. As her grown son and daughter, Leslie Odom, Jr. and Krystal Joy Brown both prove supple singers and fluid dancers.
Their contributions help lift Faith above its uneven aspects and become, if not a rapturous experience, a compelling curiosity.
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New York Daily News
Raul Esparza's a blessing as fake healer, but Broadway musical hasn't got a prayer
by Joe
** (out of 5)
Jeez, even the climactic thunderstorm is a letdown in “Leap of Faith.” You can see the water jets — where’s the fun in that?
Sorry if that’s a spoiler, but nothing happens in this frustrating and manipulative new Broadway musical based on a 1992 Steve Martin movie you don’t see coming a mile away.
What is surprising is how infrequently songs by Alan Menken (music) and Glenn Slater (lyrics) make you sit up and take notice.
Is this the same duo that packed “Sister Act” with tasty disco-pop tunes The composer who wrote the memorable melodies for “Newsies”? It is.
There are some rousing, albeit repetitive, gospel numbers, each accompanied by Sergio Trujillo’s gyrating dancing. And the sweet country-and-Western-flavored “Long Past Dreamin’” is a real keeper. Otherwise, the score is as striking as dust in a drought-ravaged Kansas town.
That’s where phony faith healer Jonas Nightingale (Raul Esparza, of “Company” and “Arcadia”) and his band of “angels” pitch their tent after a bus breakdown. They’re soon fleecing poor local yokels in their revival meetings.
Enter sheriff Marla McGowan (a likable low-key Jessica Phillips). She’s got Nightingale’s number, but she’s also a lonely widow with a disabled son, Jake (Talon Ackerman), turned on by Jonas and his many sleeveless T-shirts. “Smart Women, Foolish Choices” was a non-issue when Liam Neeson wore the badge on the big screen in 1992.
Te sex change is one of several tweaks by Janus Cercone, who wrote the original screenplay, and Warren Leight. Now, Jonas has a sister, Sam (Kendra Kassebaum), and a boo-hoo childhood to lend a shred of psychological background. Unfortunately, there are also too many secondary characters and gaps in logic, such as Jonas’ gang not knowing he’s a con man. Huh?
Director Christopher Ashley has previously done fine work guiding “Memphis” and “All Shook Up.” But he doesn’t get a handle on this production, which he inherited after a 2010 Los Angeles tryout. It feels out of sync.
Ragtag “angels” look so slick that they could’ve come from blowouts and seaweed wraps at a spa. Even the always reliable William Ivey Long has fashioned costumes that are head-scratchers. Kassebaum’s Stevie Nicks-style frock cries out for an exorcism.
As the flimflammer in the mirror-ball jacket at the center of all of this, Esparza is full of the devil. He pushes his vocals to the roof, sometimes squeezing his pipes into Patti LaBelle squeals. He stalks the stage with pursed lips and the look-at-me swagger of Mick Jagger. Esparza goes big, bold and a little buggy, but he’s never boring.
While he’s at it, he joins the roster of con men from better Broadway musicals, including “The Music Man” and “110 in the Shade.” Esparza’s not a miracle worker; he can’t save the show. But he gives it his all, and that rates an amen.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
The New York Post:
Celebrate ‘Leap’ here
by Elisabeth Vincentelli
*** (out of 4)
Even if you haven’t caught the movie it’s based on, you can see everything coming a mile away in “Leap of Faith.” The only surprise in this predictable, mushy new Broadway musical is how ridiculously fun it is.
The odds were bad, as the show arrived in a cloud of negative buzz: The original director was ditched in California, along with leading lady Brooke Shields. There were rumors that star Raul Esparza (“Company”) was too sinister as Jonas Nightingale, the sham faith healer played by a convivial Steve Martin in the 1992 film.
And the truth is, he kinda is.
Bamboozling the citizens of a small Kansas town at a raucous tent revival, Esparza’s Jonas, strapped in a stylish black suit, looks like Satan’s little helper.
And yet you can also see why the good people of Sweetwater would so eagerly swallow Jonas’ hooks: He’s got some bright, snazzy lures.
First, our man does appear to have a divine gift for reading his marks. That’s only because his Googling whiz sister, Sam (Kendra Kassebaum), secretly feeds him intel.
But the real reason for his success is that those traveling missionaries bring on some serious showmanship, snappily directed by Christopher Ashley and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo.
Esparza is a charismatic bandleader, and he tirelessly sells the peppy pop-gospel songs by Disney stalwart Alan Menken and Glenn Slater — the team that also brought us “Sister Act” and its freakishly similar inspirational numbers. A rousing backup choir called the Angels of Mercy helps.
Aside from stick-in-the-mud theatergoers, the only one who remains unconvinced by this high-energy roof-raising is the sheriff, Marla McGowan (Jessica Phillips).
This sexy heathen in skintight jeans also happens to be a widow with a young son, Jake (Talon Ackerman), who’s in a wheelchair. Oh, and Sweetwater is experiencing a severe drought. There is zero suspense as to what’s going to happen — Janus Cercone and Warren Leight’s book never strays from the obvious — yet the show manages to be satisfying.
Marla quickly susses out that beneath his sparkly jackets, Jonas is a troubled soul. “Someone, somewhere hurt you bad,” she sings with insight worthy of “The Mentalist.”
Marla isn’t the only obstacle Jonas and his Angels face on the way to their foretold redemption. Another is Isaiah (the fantastic Leslie Odom Jr.), the righteous son of Angels bookkeeper and star belter Ida Mae (Kecia Lewis-Evans).
Rest assured that everybody eventually comes around in one way or another. This isn’t a Disney production, but it might as well be.
If there’s a lesson in “Leap of Faith,” it’s that high-energy entertainment is the perfect sweetener: It makes everything go down, whether it’s a rascally preacher or a Broadway musical with a clunky book.
_____________
Updated On: 4/27/12 at 10:40 PM
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