leap of faith

[kevin5]

Posted: 4/17/12 at 11:00pm

just saw leap of faith and i have to say, what were they thinking. I could not even make it through to intermission. it was such a bad production, and such talented people, what a waste. The worst culpret was the book and directing. i will be surprised if it opens. didn't this do an out of town tryout, how did it make it to broadway. the WORST thing is they must know its in trouble, they actually had a questionaire in the playbill for feedback, just like spiderman when they were having all the trouble. bad, bad,bad. there also was not one memorable song.

[roadmixer]

Posted: 4/17/12 at 11:46pm

"Culprit" perhaps?

There are half a dozen LEAP OF FAITH threads by the way. You could have taken your poor spelling and punctuation there instead. No time to capitalize your sentences but plenty of time to post your opinion in its own thread...

[massofmen]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 10:46am

when producers actually ask the audience what they think, i think thats a sign of them throwing in the towel on their own creative facilities. If you, the creative team, don't know what is wrong with your show anymore and need help from jim and judy from Montauk, there is a problem.

[tazber]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 10:52am

I don't think they are soliciting creative suggestions from patrons.
They are trying to determine how best to focus the marketing campaign.

Updated On: 4/18/12 at 10:52 AM

[egghumor]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 10:52am

Kevin5, the show will open.

If this is the first Broadway bomb you've ever experienced, consider yourself lucky.A few come around every season since the Greeks.

[wonkit]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 11:15am

Yes. Heaven forbid we actually ask the audience what they think. Especially Jim and Judy from Montauk, because if they come in from outside the city, they can't possibly have a valid opinion. Wow - condescension much? The questionnaire is marketing and not creative, as tazber noted. And if you left at intermission, your opinion on the score is deficient.

[newintown]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 11:22am

All I can say is that I wouldn't advise making artistic decisions based on anything that comes from Jim and Judy from Montauk.

Those two are just the worst. Have you ever had dinner with them?

[massofmen]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 11:25am

yes thats genius. my grandmother knows exactly what make s broadway show work! She loves dogs on stage! so when she answers the questionairre and says "i wish there was a dog" the producers shouls run not walk to the local pet store, get a dog, and while Raul is singing have it walk across the stage. TONY AWARD!!!!

[egghumor]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 11:44am

Priceless. That comment reminds me of the time my mother went to see the film "The Piano." I asked what she thought of it, and she said this (I'll never forget): "It had too much mud in it, and don't like a lot of mud in my movies."

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 12:52pm

It's easy to make fun of Jim and Judy, the ladies who lunch, the bridge and tunnel crowd, whatever. They're all sitting ducks.

But you don't see producers or creators refusing their money at the box-office, the money that keeps their shows going and their actors employed. And they probably don't turn down their praise either.

And who knows? Maybe Jim and Judy read/have read books of greater stature than The Hunger Games or Game of Thrones. And maybe the ladies who lunch listen to Mozart at home instead of watching vampire shows or Dancing With the Stars on tv.

[newintown]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 12:55pm

That still doesn't make 'em writers or collaborators.

[bigbelterbaby]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 1:50pm

lmao it's all Brooke Shields fault.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 2:02pm

Of her time working on the tryout of Leap of Faith, Shields told Playbill magazine recently, "I was so intent on [originating a role] for the longest [time], but after that experience, I'm acutely aware now it has to be perfect for me to go out on that limb."

She added, "If you replace, you have nothing to lose. It doesn't rest on you. They're just hoping you can keep it open. With a new show, you must be clear and know what you're getting into. I was a bit naïve about that. I'm able to keep coming back to Broadway because I do all of it well enough — but it's everything. If you take out one of those things and just compare me to the best in that field — whether it's dancing or singing or acting — I'm not going to win that battle. Take away two out of the three and leave me just singing in the spotlight, I'm going to lose. The role [in Leap of Faith] had virtually no dancing, no humor. I'm proud of what I did...but I think what they wanted was somebody above the title with Raúl. The show is all him, and he's so extraordinary in it, but what he needs around him is not just someone to get them in the seats. I felt fenced [in] through the whole thing, but I learned it's better to have learned that out of town."


Interesting to reread this after the show has been mounted on Broadway.
After seeing the Leap, I think Brooke got out at the right time! The show is a train wreck and that character is a massive hole. Raul should have leapt at the same time.

Updated On: 4/18/12 at 02:02 PM

[roadmixer]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 3:29pm

For those who continue to be interested in that survey... some information....

The survey is for marketing... it asks your age, your gender, where you heard about the show, why you came to the show (including a write-in for whether you came to see a particular actor), where you get news about theatre and that's about it other than fishing for email addresses. There is no space to write the show or direct the show or give ideas on the show in any way, shape or form. It is not a focus group. It is not asking anyone their opinion on the show.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 3:48pm

Wow, really surprised at this thread. If some of you are so concerned that audience members have nothing to offer in terms of feedback, what are you doing on BWW giving your opinion of a show? And since often our views differ from critics, who so frequently disagree with each other's published opinions, why shouldn't we be heard from? Then there is the fact that almost all products and services have consumer focus groups when they are launched; why should a Broadway musical be any different? That is, if we can agree with the premise that a show actually wants its audience to members to enjoy themselves. Then of course there is the snobbish idea that someone from Montauk may not have anything constructive to say about a production, as if people from outside the city are cultural illiterates, or as if the Broadway theater is only for someone's warped idea of what the intelligentsia is and where they live. Finally, if an audience member's comments are silly, of course they are going to be of limited values to the producers; but that doesn't mean that in any audience there aren't people - from all over - who might have something of value to offer.

OK, I think I've dryly said all I needed to say. Thanks, I feel better now.

Updated On: 4/18/12 at 03:48 PM

[newintown]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 3:57pm

henrik, I think the point is that creative artists would be best advised to avoid creating their work based on comments from the audience.

Imagine Flaubert roaming the suburbs of Paris, asking housewives and accountants what they would like to see in his next novel. There wouldn't be a Madame Bovary resulting.

Although, for something that seems as commercially-driven as Leap of Faith (which, admittedly seems slightly less commercially-driven than Spider-Man or Ghost), this rule may perhaps be ignored...

[henrikegerman]

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

I don't know. Who better than housewives (some of them, they are not a united front when it comes to literature) to be moved by a Madame Bovary or to relate to a character so tragically dependent on the desire, romance and longing, or to understand the needyness engendered by Emma's Catholic education and sense of romantic deprivation? But that's beside the point. I would not be at all surprised if Flaubert sincerely cared how people of all walks of life, and especially married women - happily or unhappily - leading conventional lives, experienced Madame Bovary (although he might have been more interested in how provincial women felt about Emma than how their Parisian counterparts saw her).

[finebydesign]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 4:22pm

When you have as many producers invested in this show as this show does or producers with shareholders of course you have to pay attention to audiences.

What the heck do you think workshops and tryouts are for? You can't launch a multi-million dollar show in a vacuum.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 4:34pm

In any event, as Roadmixer's made clear, the survey only seeks to identify the audience coming to see the show; it's not soliciting their opinions.

Still, movies often have focus group audiences. Why shouldn't a Broadway show?

Updated On: 4/18/12 at 04:34 PM

[finebydesign]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 4:35pm

Hey it's a really good idea, I'd sure love to know who their target audience is.

[roadmixer]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 6:29pm

Target Audience = People willing to pay money to see LEAP OF FAITH

[uncageg]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 6:36pm

Saw it last night and had a great time. Get to your seat by ateast 10 till curtain. It could use a bit of tightening up. Love the score and Raul's 11:00 number is really good. Kendra Kassbaum was hilarious. The set was fine. Made you feel a part of the revivals. It was also nice to see Esparza cut loose and dance in a few numbers.

*****SPOILER******

They need to fix the leak in the shower pipe.

*****End of Spoiler*****

I would see it again and hope it gets recordex as I would buy the OBCR in a heartbeat.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 6:42pm

Why do we need to get to our seats by ten of, or would that be a special surprise?

I'm seeing it tonight so I'm asking with a purpose.

[JoanBennett]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 6:44pm

uncageg - I agree with you. I liked it A LOT

I'm curious about your 10 til comment as well

[roadmixer]

Posted: 4/18/12 at 7:07pm

There is a pre-show that starts 10 min. before curtain