Leap Of Faith Previews- Page 8

[beensince1987]

Posted: 4/7/12 at 11:32pm

This was not my cup of tea. Why do I dislike Kendra in this show so much? Maybe cause she kept calling the boy "crippled".

[nycserenade2]

Posted: 4/7/12 at 11:51pm

I saw this today and thought it was atrocious in every way. I like Raul, and have seen him in most things he has done since Tick Tick Boom, but he did nothing for me in this role. Perhaps it was the rest of the terrible show reflecting back on him, but I was just bored out of my mind. We made the huge mistake of not leaving at intermission, thinking it had to get better. It did not. By the time the rain came, I almost burst out laughing. I haven't seen something this bad since Clear Day. I feel for the cast, who are clearly working hard to make something out of this, but I just can't see how this mess can be salvaged, even with a lot of changes.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:04am

I really really wanted to like it, but I just couldn't. The actors were great, and Raul give 110% but I think the songs were terrible. Esp that chicken/fox song. I was cringing and embarrassed for them. The big gospel numbers were fun but then it went back to just... blah. I don't really know how to put it.

Raul is looking good. great shape. good hair. facial hair.

[jv92]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:10am

Another book/structure problem:

Marian the Librarian is a stuffy, "old maid" librarian who doesn't give anyone the time of day. Hence, she brushes off Harold Hill at first glance.

The Lady Sheriff (What was her name?), who is clearly a confident and sexy woman can tell by LOOKING at Jonas that he's a "fox in the henhouse?" There's the possibility of her remembering his face from a Google search, but I found that doubtable.

I know I keep comparing this show to THE MUSIC MAN, but it's trying to be a "Gospel"/"Religious" MUSIC MAN (with some 110 thrown in), hence my comparisons.

[jeffrey2]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:24am

Was surprised how much I liked it. Got to meet Menken and Tim Rice during intermission . Told him I was enjoying the show and he thanked me and told me they still have a lot of work to do on it.

[viola13]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:41am

I went in with very low expectations after reading this thread, and was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. No, it's not life changing or anything, and the storyline is super predictable, but I had fun. I thought the cast was very strong all around, I liked the music for the most part, and I thought the design was appropriate for the setting of the show.

[djdan1079]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 2:43am

Wonkit- Thank you. I don't understand why people are making sweeping statements about "every" character being underdeveloped. What I will say is that some of the best character development is happening in slater's lyrics and not in the book scenes. If you aren't listening in "People Like Us", you are missing a big chunk of Sam's backstory. If you miss Ida Mae's act 1 number, you are missing a lot of the pieces. If audience members are really having a hard time hearing vocals over the band due to a muddy sound mix, then that might be the issue here.

This isn't to say the show is without problems. I agree that Marla and her son aren't likable enough. It's sort of confusing when the boy comes wheeling up to Jonas' hotel room thinking his mom is "working late". Are we supposed to cheer for a mom that leaves her kid wheeling the streets at night while she's tapping the criminal she wants to arrest? I mean, that makes her a bad mother as well as an awful sheriff.

Still though, the show is ten times better than Lyssie Jones or Clear Day.

[wonkit]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 8:50am

djdan - Thanks back!

I am kind of puzzled by the concern over the kid, which I have seen in a number of comments. He's in a wheelchair but he is thirteen, not nine, so the creatives may have to work on the fact (suggested but not developed) that he is an independent kid inspite of his injuries and he is pretty rebellious, like any other early teenager. His mom is a single parent with other responsibilities, and he's not the helpless one - she is! He has faith and hope and she is (he calls her) a heathen who tried everything for him.

Glad we are back to actually discussing the show. I think some people stop listening when the music starts?!

[JoanBennett]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 10:56am

I'm thinking I have to go back this week and see if someone slipped me a roffie... I remember liking the show, liking the music, the costumes, loving Raul's performance (yes, the show needs work). I remember the people around me liking it too...

I think I may go back this week and see if that was all a dream...

Not that anyone else here would comment on a show they haven't seen, just 'cause they are working for another show that's Tony eligible...

Posted: 4/8/12 at 11:11am

i see at least a show every week or other week and I don't work for any other show.

Leap of Faith- had to be the worst thing I've seen in the last 10-15 years or so.

Nothing in this show had any redeeming qualities.
People may have liked it because they paid money and so they need to feel vindicated to clap for something they sat through.

But when a story/book goes nowhere, the music is as bland as ever, unmemorable- i left the theatre not even remembering one single song.
You could have easily watched the first 5 minutes on repeat- because that's what it felt like.

The characters go nowhere- there is no emotional arc.
You don't care for anyone or anything.
The acting is forced

high school musicals carry more weight than this dreck.


The costumes are uninspired along with the repetitive choreography

when cast members are collecting money in baskets at the end (quite tacky)
after having you sit through that torture

when raul has become a caricature of himself -screeching, singing, doing his tilted stance finger tension forced vibrato thing
(an I LIKE the Raul,... just not in this)

when the set is clunky and bland/boring

when lyrics are embarrassing and you expect more from Alan Menkin and Glen Slater (they wrote Little Mermaid for christ's sake!!))

when the characters in the show are thoughtless

when you expect more from this award winning team of Christopher Ashley, Sergio Trujillo and the rest of them....

and when the whole thing is just predictable from the first 5 minutes...

there is just one thing to say based on what's out there now:


skip it.






Updated On: 4/8/12 at 11:11 AM

[andi1235]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 1:09pm

I saw this twice yesterday, and while objectively it wasn't perfect, I LOVED it. I've been hanging on every bit of information I could find about this show for ages, and I've been waiting to see it in person for a good five years, so I'm not really terribly objective, but I'll try.

(SPOILERS AHEAD!)

Good things first: Personally, I thought the individual songs and all the performances were fantastic. Raul was amazing. I'm a huge Raul fan, and if you don't like him, you probably won't like the show. His big 11:00 number was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. Overall, I thought the show was great.

However, a few quibbles. I did think that the boy, in particular, could benefit from more character development. His Magic song sort of comes out of nowhere, and even though I like the song a lot, it's abrupt.

Actually, I think that's my biggest complaint with the structure of the show overall. It still seems like some of the plot is abrupt. A few well-placed book scenes could fix 99% of the show's structural flaws, and the music and performances are strong enough that I think the show could be perfect without much change.

[Playland]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 1:52pm

I went to Saturday's matinee and enjoyed the show. I came with low expectations as the last preview I went to was "Bonnie & Clyde". It had a great finale.

On another note, I met Tommy Tune on the street last week and I had a nice conversation with him. He seemed stunned when I told him one of the first records I had purchased was his cast album of "Seesaw". As I left, he shook my hand and instructed me to go see "Once". A very nice and gracious man.

[jv92]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 2:10pm

I met Tommy Tune at a preview of DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY last summer. (I'm assuming he was there to advise his old NINE/GRAND HOTEL buddy, Maury Yeston.) Also thought he was a very nice man. Very tall!

[PopAria]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 4:01pm

Raul is incredible in this. The choir is brilliant. The songs were fantastic. And the entire thig was so much fun to watch. I kept thinking "wtf!! Is this really happening??" everything is over the top. The tv screens reminded me of my church days when i used to go to mega churches with big ass screens for no reason. Lol. Raul really killed it. I smell a tony nomination.

I didnt enjoy Newsies as much as this. (yet newsies was a little bit more real theatre)
The songs for preview on the show's site were my favorite (plus a few others) and i was crying at the end because of that
SPOILER

rain on stage. It was funny to watch

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 4:13pm

I smell something...

Posted: 4/8/12 at 5:02pm

Yeah really. And it stinks.

[andi1235]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 6:25pm

Gah. Double post. Updated On: 4/8/12 at 06:25 PM

[ken8631]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 8:37am

Saw it last Friday, sat in Mezz. Liked the play, wife is a big Raul fan (her Facebook page has a pic of her and him). His 11 o'clock number was great. 2nd half better than first. Great cast. Poor choice for theatre, since there is a lot of action was at the front of the stage, and from the mezz (at least) you can't see the front of the orch - didn't like the tv screens, didn't come to watch the play on tv.

Had a good time, bought a poster, and noticed a well- deserved standing O at the end when Raul came out....

[wonkit]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 9:42am

Actually, the mezzanine is a great place to sit for this one. I saw it from the front mezzanine last week, but a friend who had an orchestra seat felt like he was missing stuff because things were happening behind him on the catwalks and in the boxes! My sight lines to the orchestra were so good that I rarely glanced at the screens, although some of the close ups were striking. The videographer has been very well prompted, obviously.

[ken8631]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 11:10am

We rarely looked at the TV screens, and could not see the orchestra seats at all - we were in Row K of the front Mezz. Would have been better if we could at see the catwalk area.

[wonkit]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 11:15am

The catwalks I meant are those along the boxes, running from the stage to the mezzanine. A lot went on there, on both sides of the theater. From Row K, could you at least see the townspeople on the elevated platforms on either side of the proscenium? Much of the area occupied by the risers in the orchestra wasn't actually used, so far as I could tell.

[ken8631]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 11:46am

Saw the area from stage to mezz (side catwalks), but little happened there. Could see the townspeople onstage, but not the area that extended to the center orch area, which seemed to be used a lot.

Seemed they tried to extend into the audience, but we felt that that theatre didn't lend itself to that very well due to sightlines from the mezz (unless you were maybe in the first few rows) down to the orch.

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 12:07pm

We had pretty close seats in the orch, but I was happy for the video screens, as there were times I wanted to see facial expressions, and there were times I couldn't see over the person's head in front of me.

[newintown]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 12:21pm

andi, you really saw this show twice in one day?

You're either working on the show or stalking someone in it, I'll wager...

[finebydesign]

Posted: 4/9/12 at 12:41pm

Saw Leap this past weekend. I cannot believe it is actually going to open on Broadway. The ugly set looks very expensive, so I cannot imagine this being a cheap production. Do not pay full price. Yes I know it is only in previews, but that's what message boards are for!

There is so much disconnected tissue with this show, overall it feels like it is a bastard pet-project no one has seen all the way through and everybody contributes but no clear vision. Was Tim Rice there for lyric help? To say it is "tortured" would be to assume people have actually spent time working on it.

Some of the songs are pretty ok, generic but ok. The book loosely strings together the song moments. There are songs for the sake of singing, a weird duet with the sister and the love interest.

The plotting of the show is so transparent it makes me sad. The African American family subplot feels like something to spend time on but we blow right past that. The technology jokes feel plopped-in and feel dated.

If you're going to do gospel music (and it's expected), do something new or interesting with it. Remember in Hercules how it was used in a funny way?

The cast is ok, but this show really needs some talent punch if it is going to weather the summer. Raul is good but his part is not, I assume we're supposed to relate to his character but its just so flat. The character should be fascinating but he isn't. Raul's love interest feels like a rewritten after thought, and the actress is fine but she doesn't stand out. I do like that the cast is very diverse and there are "real people" on that stage (as opposed to ripped 20-something dancer types). They don't get to talk that much but look real. When they do talk, it is embarrassing for everyone in the house.

The choreography is just weird. There is a bizarro dance break in the middle of the show by a member of the ensemble. It is very strange. It feels like an episode of Smash where that guy slept with the choreographer and got his own solo.

The staging of the show is also confusing. Most of the time we are to understand we are under the "big tent." Problem is the transitions still leave us under that same tent despite being else where. Also at no point in the show is the actual audience revved up enough to be part of the show. Why not plant people throughout the audience? There is also weird asides to the audience and then back into the action.

The theme of this show is a good one, you can change course any time, you are not condemned to repeat your mistakes. This show doesn't seem to understand that is the same fate it is suffering. It really needs to break the McMusical mold if it's going compete with say the other religiously themed Broadway shows (Mormon, Sister Act, Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar).