STEP INTO THE LIGHT

After I waxed poetic about The Music Center/Center Theatre Group's productions, I figured a real review of Leap of Faith should follow.

Since I saw the show last week, I have been thinking about the music, plot, dance numbers and overall performances wondering why I am so drawn to the story.  There is so much I love about the show with one overwhelming factor leading the charge (that I finally recognized) - familiarity.  Its amazing that it took this long to figure out.  I realized that maybe the reason I feel this way about Leap of Faith is because it is very similar to one of my other beloved old-school musicals.  Leap of Faith, meet The Music Man.  Consider this:

A con-man comes to a smal town, falls for a local single woman, befriends a child who is has "special needs" and is changed because of this relationship (with the child).  The con-man isn't exactly forthright with the woman or the child about why he is really in the town or who he really is.  Then, someone outs this con-man and said con-man must own up to who he really is.  Somehow the con-man does something to make good with the people of the small town, helps the child he has befriended and eventually gets the girl.  

Not sure which show I'm describing? Of course you're right because it refers to both shows.

Robert Preston as Prof. Harold Hill

Raúl Esparza as Jonas Nightingale

So Leap of Faith (the musical) is based loosely on the film of the same name starring Steve Martin and though it has (almost identical) similarities, it isn't a rip off of The Music Man (film or musical).  Leap of Faith and The Music Man are very similar stories and you might think that the similarity ends there (at the plot) right?  Sort of.  If we take a look at the performances of the lead actors in these two musicals, you will find two, highly dynamic, remarkable actors who really carry the show they are in.  In The Music Man, the incomparable Robert Preston created the role of Harold Hill...he is incredibly charismatic and really, who wouldn't follow and want to believe in him?  Leap of Faith has an equally dynamic and multi-talented actor in Raúl Esparza who plays Jonas Nightingale.  Watching and listening to his character...who wouldn't want to follow and believe in him either?

Have I convinced you that the central storyline in Leap of Faith really is similar to The Music Man and that Harold Hill/Jonas Nightingale are the ones who really carry their respective shows?  When I think about The Music Man, I immediately think Robert Preston and then I think that though sweet and classic, the show really isn't anything without Preston. Actors come and go and while many have played Harold Hill, nobody could nail it like Preston did.  So when I think about the the entire production of Leap of Faith, the show too really succeeded because of Raúl Esparza. 

From the moment he walked onto the stage, dressed completely in black with sunglasses on, Esparza  convincingly carried himself as a smarmy, charismatic con-man.  This attitude mixed with the words he spoke only reinforced this character. When in the "tent" as the evangelist persona,  Esparza's inflections were spot-on.  Esparza's energy was undeniable and it was hard to tell if he put every ounce in his being to become Jonas or if Esparza was Jonas.

I have been aware of Esparza as an actor since I bought the off-Broadway cast recording of tick, tick...BOOM! in 2001 in which he played Jon (the semi-autobiographical show about Jonathan Larson).  Throughout the years, I have seen Esparza perform on TV and the internet from various roles.  Yet, when I saw him as Bobby in the revival of Company in 2006, I knew that I finally saw the quintessential Bobby.  He brought such passion and intensity to the role that I had not seen before or since.  His Bobby was darker and more multi-dimensional than I had seen before.  But I digress.  There are some performances that you know while sitting there in the audience that you are watching an actor playing a role.  There are others that completely transform while onstage into the role...whose performance you know is something special (i.e., Patti LuPone in Gypsy and Alice Ripley in Next to Normal; Raúl Esparza as Jonas Nightingale comes pretty close to making this list too).  Its quite a grand statement, I know, but the night I saw Leap of Faith, I thought he was just that good.  The interesting thing is that while both Gypsy and Next to Normal hold their place in theatre history because of their respective books, Leap of Faith doesn't exactly come close to being a Pulitzer Prize winning show.

There are aspects of Leap of Faith that weren't amazing - some of the characters were not developed enough which (to me) affected the outcome of the storyline.  When looking at the all of the characters in Leap of Faith, none is more developed than that of Jonas (which is good and yet...obviously bad).  Of the more major characters, every other is a distant second to Jonas - Marva, Sam, Boyd.  If it weren't for Ricky Sturdevant, there really wasn't any need to have Ida Mae in the show.  Would there be?  When Leslie Odom, Jr. was onstage, his stage presence was evident which is why the part was memorable.  The character though?  Ricky Sturdevant wasn't a weak character, only he wasn't strong either.  Brooke Shields played Marva McGowan well...as I stated in a previous post, she was a perfect mix of strong and sensitive and could be considered to be a stabilizing force in the show; she played safe well.  I don't think it was Shields who was the problem though; she couldn't have played the role better, it was the character that way dry.  One could say that was purposeful...the dry, somewhat-boring character of Marva was a representation of the drought-ridden town of Sweetwater...yes, I think its stretching things too.

If the story was lacking, the music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater (respectively) and choreography by Rob Ashford were just incredible.  During the Rise Up number, while watching the dancers, I was so taken by the choreography, feeling that it was reminiscent of musicals from days-gone-by; it was gloriously old-school.  The rhythmic gospel music was a high point of the show that I can't get out of my head.  Days after seeing the show, I still find myself going back to CTGLA's YouTube page so I can hear at least some of the music and see bits of the choreography again.

I find great pleasure when musicals make their world premieres in Los Angeles then go on to be successful Broadway shows.  Shows like 13, The Drowsy Chaperone, 9 to 5: The Musical and Curtains made their mark here in Los Angeles, at Center Theatre Group before becoming darlings of Broadway.  With a little bit of revision, I am certain (and hopeful) that Leap of Faith will follow the steps of the Center Theatre Group's shows that came before it. 

HOW LONG MUST THIS GO ON?

5 shows closing on Broadway in one day...FIVE theaters people, will dim their lights when the following shows CLOSE on January 4, 2009...and something tells me that the numbers may grow. Whether there is a reason like contracts ending or just because the economy sucks, its still a shame to see 5 such well known shows closing at the same time. 5 shows people...5.

1. 13
2. Hairspray
3. Young Frankenstein
4. Boeing-Boeing
5. Grease

PS: And if this weren't enough, Gypsy just announced that its moving up it's closing date from March 1, 2009 to January 9, 2009 because:

"Though we originally announced that GYPSY would play its final performance on March 1, 2009, due to these uncertain financial times my partners and I have made the difficult decision to close instead on January 11, 2009" said producer Roger Berlind.

Hearing things like this makes it difficult to be positive about what is happening to the Great White Way. There are a few shows deciding to open in the springtime, but its sad to see such quality shows (such as some of the ones listed in this post) closing. Sad times...

THE SONG OF PURPLE SUMMER

Last week, I was in NY to help out with a friend’s business venture and hoped to be able to take in a few of the many Broadway shows I’ve been dying to see. On my top tier wish-list was Patti LuPone in Gypsy, the other two being South Pacific and Spring Awakening. Three shows in just four days? It was possible for sure, but since this wasn’t a pleasure trip…I didn't know if it would be entirely probable. Unfortunately, I never made it to South Pacific which was fine since I more than enjoyed at least one of the shows I saw.

With the Tony noms just last week and Patti LuPone's nomination for best leading actress in a musical, I just knew that her portrayal of Mama Rose would be stellar. While I have had my reservations about her in certain roles from years past, I was oh-so-sure that this performance would blow all others right out of the water. After all, in addition to LuPone, Gypsy boasts an impressive cast of nominees (for their role in the show): Boyd Gaines as Herbie and Laura Benanti as Louise. Yet when the full orchestra appeared on stage and played the first note of the overture, I was simply mesmerized and thrilled to be in the audience. Turns out, the orchestra that night might have been the most thrilling part of the whole show. Wow, that was harsh (I’m sorry Ms. LuPone!) As the show progressed, I had moments of feeling fully engrossed but for the most part wished that I could love it more. I remember thinking just before the end of Act I that many people judge what makes a good Mama Rose based on what she does with the dramatic number, Rose’s Turn. To me though, that’s too easy. What makes a good Mama Rose is how the actor leads up to that climax in the role. I really do love Patti LuPone, but I felt in this performance she was trying too hard – too hard to be impressive, her singing seemed inconsistent and it seemed more about trying to use vibrato and have a vocally wide range while trying to embellish her singing. Don't get me wrong, her Rose’s Turn was fantastic, she was dramatic, delusional and damaged…yet you knew it was coming. It was a great Mama Rose but it wasn’t that special (I know, kill me now, I know who I'm being critical of). And maybe what I liked the most about her performance of Rose's Turn is that she didn’t try to throw in vibrato where it didn’t belong or unnecessarily embellish her singing. Her acting spoke for itself in this one scene whereas it didn’t really anywhere else.

I thought Boyd Gaines was a good (not great) Herbie and only Laura Benanti’s Louise truly grew as a character from start to finish (Benanti I think she was sick -- she kept blowing her nose -- and if she truly was, she STILL gave a performance worthy of a nomination). I wonder if knowing the show too well made it less enjoyable for me. Was it because to me, the quintessential Mama Rose (revival) is Bette Midler and maybe I unfairly compared LuPone to Midler?

Perhaps the best part of the entire trip was my visit to Spring Awakening. I have long since been a skeptic of the whole idea that this show has transformed the Broadway landscape. All the hype about the show being amazing, life changing, etc., I never understood and I knew that I couldn’t grasp that concept until I actually saw the show. I was in luck because I got one of the hottest Broadway tickets for the evening performance of Sunday, May 18. Little did I know that I would be amidst the screaming teenagers in the audience of the Eugene O’Neill Theatre and feel a little old but be re-energized by an amazing night of theater. That Sunday evening performance was the final one for Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele, the leads in the show. These two have been Melchior Gabor and Wendla Bergmann (respectfully) since its off-Broadway engagement and then opened the show when it transferred to Broadway on December 10, 2006.

The show opens with Michele standing alone on a chair singing Mama Who Bore Me and from the moment she appeared on stage, she received a thunderous applause which led to a standing ovation before she sang a note. It was an amazing evening filled with energy, emotion and was simply magical (so said Michele). I knew that this was going to be an exciting performance. The company gave it their all and though the show seemed to be running like a well oiled machine (it has been running for over a year now), it still felt fresh. There was a real sense of camaraderie between the members of the company and the chemistry between Groff and Michele was very apparent. Michele was emotional throughout her performance (I was sitting close enough, 6th row) to tell but the two most memorable, stand-out scenes in the show came in The Mirror-Blue Light & Totally Fucked. While the entire show was electrifying, seeing Groff standing on the chair (there were a lot of chairs in this show) during the The Mirror-Blue Light number with the blue lights hanging from the ceiling was actually really beautiful. Hearing Groff sing, seeing the lights, feeling the energy made for such an amazing moment in the theater. Even better though was the performance of Totally Fucked. It was perfectly acted/sung and the audience ate it up. The number actually got a standing ovation...for five minutes! Broadway.com even makes the same claim and at the end of the number, the cast was frozen in their position for the same five minutes with Michele crying and though I couldn’t see Groff’s face, I read he was happily laughing. The rest of the cast was amused by this too by the look on their faces – it was priceless.

I was truly mesmerized by the energy this show gave off – I’m not sure who gave more, the cast or the legions of passionate fans. The show reminded me of the way I was at that age (crazy about The Phantom of the Opera) and how emotional I got whether happy or sad about my love of the show. Now, I finally understand this show -- the hype, the choreography of jumping about on stage, the storyline and the connection anyone who has ever felt the pain of adolescent angst. The talent of each member of the company on stage was immense and Spring Awakening is truly an amazing show for the young and the young at heart.