Leap Of Faith Previews- Page 5

[bookofmel]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 2:53pm

I also think that Andrew Keenan-Bolger should win Best Featured Actor for Newsies, so maybe I'm just a shill for gay men in Alan Menken musicals.

And now I know why I'm single!

[roadmixer]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 3:51pm

Is it me or is the OP's subject here the LOF previews and not Raul?

Start another thread if you want to Raul-bash or compare 2007 to 2012 but this is supposed to be about what is happening NOW at the St. James right?

[wonkit]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 4:59pm

Thank you, roadmixer.

[newintown]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 5:09pm

Perhaps you could start a new thread specifying when one should start new threads.

[egghumor]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 5:31pm

Returning to serious business... newintown, in that monumental production, did RuPaul play the Kazoo and perform "June is Bustin' Out All Over," or am I mistaken?

[Wicked Fanatic]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 6:18pm

Thank you After Eight for posting the song list!

The 1st act looks like it has 7 new musical scenes and/or some songs changed singers or places within Act 1.

A total of 8 songs were eliminated from L.A.:
"Do Whatcha Gotta Do sung by Brooke;
"Slingshot"--Raul & Kendra (Boo!);
"Daddy's Shoes"--Leslie Odom. His character's name has also been changed from Ricky to Isiah;
"The Gospel According To Me" sung by the sheriff which became the new role for Marla;
"Walk Into the Sunset" with Boyd (now named Jake) and Jonas;
"Long Past Dreaming" sung by Marva;
the gospel songs "Let It Loose" and "Hotline to Heaven" which I liked.

Question for anyone that saw it in L.A. that has seen it now; did some of these eliminated songs remain but with new titles like "Dancin' in the Devil's Shoes"?

Surprised that "King of Sin" is not the Act 1 finale now. Should it be or is the "Dancing in the Devil's Shoes" a better choice?

As for Act 2 it looks like the music stayed the same with only "Long Past Dreamin'" sung by Marla and Jonas replacing "Something Real".

Want to know about the choreography. Obviously the Agnes de Mille ballet choices used in L.A. are gone. Is it all fast paced now?

[egghumor]

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

I thought that's what Blanche performed in response to the collection boy.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 8:18pm

I think a "LEAP OF FAITH" preview thread is the best place to bash the Raul, the guy passes gas and gets a TONY nom.

Posted: 4/4/12 at 11:49pm

JUST GOT BACK FROM PREVIEW:

MY REVIEW:

(mind you, I love Raul Esparza, Christopher Ashley's directional work and Sergio Trujillo's choreography)

But this was a big ol mess.
I wanted to leave so badly during ACT 1.
The music and lyrics- unmemorable
the sets- a clunky mess
the costumes- less than stellar
the story- who cares...

it felt like you were watching the first 10 minutes on repeat.

Raul had a great performance- but you don't care about any of these characters.
what a mess.

I say- go back to CHitty Chitty Bang Bang

and Bless Brooke Shields for making the decision to do Adams Family instead.

LEAP, RUN, away from this bus crash.

I paid $29 for my tix and it was still too much.
i can't see how people would pay full price for this show.




Updated On: 4/4/12 at 11:49 PM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 12:08am

Saw this show tonight. Holy cow, what a nightmare. It's a shame when talented people like Jessica Phillips and Kecia Lewis Evans are stuck in a dud, as is the case here.

The entire thing is a predictable mess. Anyone who can't see the big ending coming by the end of the prologue is an idiot. I'm a huge Alan Menken fan, but this score is terrible- every single number sounds exactly the same. Same thing for the choreography. Every dance number consists of the chorus raising their arms and jumping in place.

Esparza pulls out his regular bag of tricks with the weird mannerisms and that vibrato. It's his standard "Look at me! I'm an ACTOR!" performance.

Jessica Phillips fares better, but is given absolutely dreadful material. She does get one nice song near the top of act 2 that shows off her country music chops.

Kenda Kassebaum and Kecia Lewis Evans do their best.

Roberta Wall has a fun little cameo role.

I found the live video screens incredibly distracting and unnecessary. Also, I will never, for the life of me, understand peoples' fascination with seeing themselves on a video monitor.

The couple behind us fled at intermission. I was envious of them.

The critics are going to have a field day with this one.

[BwayTday]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 12:10am

*There is a minor spoiler in this post*

I didn't feel as strongly as taboo about the show. I thought that one thing Ashford did right in L.A. was create more of a contrast with the townspeople and the "angels". In fact including the townspeople in, well, anything more seemed to create more tension in the show. They were barely featured in this version, which I believe was one reason people can't invest in the characters. It was a lot less "Oklahoma" than in L.A. in terms of the production values. The set in my opinion was a lot better as with lighting. The choreography was a lot more exciting. The songs were all fine work, the title song being the best in my opinion.

I think one of the biggest problems was the whole framing device. Frankly it just needs to go. They framed it as if they were telling this story to a new tent revival. Every time a character randomly started to address the audience it just felt strange. I say play it as a straight book musical and it would benefit greatly. It adds next to nothing to the show.

Also, since the L.A. production was so damn long, I feel like they were afraid to make this one remotely long. A few more scenes to flesh out the characters would really help since there are so many plots. Many more dances since the show came alive during the dance sequences.

All of the cast was uniformly excellent and none of the problems with the show seem to stem from them.

A lot of the cast mentioned that they are changing a lot of things, so we shall see. They have a good show if they iron some things out and strengthen some of there assets. It needs focus but hopefully it can get there.

Updated On: 4/5/12 at 12:10 AM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 12:14am

Doesn't every show come alive during the dancing? Isn't that point of the dancing? But if you have a ton of dancing then you have "Movin' Out" - not a musical.

Why would the producers rush to put this show up? Did they get a good deal on the theater? It just doesn't sound ready for a Broadway production.

[DaveyG]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 12:55am

The producers pounced on the theatre when it became available after the "On A Clear Day" mess. At the time, it probably made sense since it's not a particularly competitive year for new musicals. They took their chances and pushed it forward very quickly. Sounds like they're off to a bumpy start and may pay a heavy price. It's still early on, though...hopefully they can pull it together.

Does anyone know how they're selling?

[BwayTday]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 1:40am

True RippedMan. I more meant to say that the two non-revival dances provided excitement in contrast to the slower...most everything else. Oh yeah and those video monitors are completely useless. And Adamgreer makes another good point, I just don't think the source material provides for strong plot. l think there is an entertaining show here, but we'll see.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 6:00am

Another random thought that bothered me throughout (and this should be an indication of just how disengaged I was):

Why was this town's sheriff never armed? Even when she was in uniform she never had her firearm with her. Does she not believe in guns?

[wonkit]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 7:16am

Because this is a small town where everybody knows each other and nobody has a pot to piss in? Wow - glad we are focusing on the important stuff.

[mamaleh]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 8:54am

Saw it last night. The house was packed. I don't think I saw more than one or two empty seats.

Raul was on fire; lots of energy and power on that stage. I think he's going to blow out his voice, though, if he doesn't take it down a notch. Not every number has to be sung at full decibels. I liked some of the songs, although the number of introspective ballads could be cut and would probably help the pacing.

Raul's mic went out during the final number, but he made himself heard.

Not sure how the critics will like it, but it does seem to be an audience pleaser.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 12:04pm

I don't care what people think , I loved Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. LOVED. IT. And I always forget Raul was in that show.

[newintown]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 12:11pm

Funny - I always forget that I sat through that awful show. I wish I could keep forgetting it...

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 1:12pm

"I don't care what people think , I loved Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. LOVED. IT. And I always forget Raul was in that."

I never thought there was anyone on here that agreed with me on this! I saw the touring production and absolutely ADORED it. I loved every second of it.

[egghumor]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 1:17pm

I heard Jan Maxwell was the saving grace of that CHITTY enterprise, no?

(Marc Kudisch, too)

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 1:21pm

The Raul Hated CHITTY CHITTY and the company returned the sentiment to him.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 1:44pm

Jan Maxwell was the only one in Chitty to not be upstaged by the car. A truly brilliant comedic performance that deserved to win the Tony that year.

And yes, Esparza was miserable in Chitty and was extremely unfriendly to the company. I saw the show numerous times because I knew someone involved, and Esparza always phoned it in and looked he'd have rather been anywhere else.

[egghumor]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 1:56pm

And didn't he have some colossal meltdown backstage at TABOO? One that carried out to the house?

[Jane2]

Posted: 4/5/12 at 2:16pm

"the Raul"....haha, love it!

Yes, Raul and Rosie O'Donnell had a disagreement at Taboo which was covered by some theater media.