When his traveling ministry breaks down in a small Kansas town, part-time reverend and full-time con artist Jonas Nightingale (Raul Esparza) quickly pitches a tent and invites the locals to a revival. The town sheriff, Marla Humes (Jessica Phillips) is determined to stop him from separating the townspeople from their money.
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.
Competently directed by Christopher Ashley with some lively choreography by Sergio Trujillo, the show occasionally grapples with an interesting question: Can a seriously flawed man still be a vessel for God's will, even for the miraculous? But while Esparza has a confident, commanding stage presence, he doesn't seem oily enough in his early scenes to make his second-act moment of reckoning pay off...The show does brush on a thin veneer of documentary-style exposé — we see how a sham healer gathers telling details about his congregation to exploit during his revival service — but otherwise the story never strays from its highly conventional path. And for Broadway veterans, that path should seem especially familiar. Leap of Faith is The Music Man meets 110 in the Shade, with an overly pat ending that undercut's the plot's refreshing ambivalence about the path to salvation.
2010 | Los Angeles |
World Premiere Los Angeles |
2012 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Raul Esparza |
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Warren Leight |
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Book of a Musical | Janus Cercone |
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Choreography | Sergio Trujillo |
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Musical | Christopher Ashley |
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music | Alan Menken |
2012 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical | 0 |
2012 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Raúl Esparza |
2012 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Leslie Odom, Jr. |
2012 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Production of a Musical | 0 |
2012 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Raúl Esparza |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Relativity Media, LLC |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Steve Kaplan |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Rich/Caudwell |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Center Theatre Group |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Michael Palitz |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Richard J. Stern |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Melissa Pinsly |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Celine Rosenthal |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Independent Presenters Network |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Diana Buckhantz |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Pamela Cooper |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Vera Guerin |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Leading Investment Co., Ltd |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Christina Papagjika |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Victor Syrmis |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Semlitz/Glaser Productions |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Jujamcyn Theaters |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Daryl Roth |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Michael Manheim |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | James D. Stern |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Douglas L. Meyer |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Marc Routh |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Richard Frankel |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Tom Viertel |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Steven Baruch |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Annette Niemtzow |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Leap of Faith |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Robert G. Bartner |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Steven Silva |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Shanna Silva |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Endgame Entertainment |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Patricia Monaco |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Debi Coleman |
2012 | Tony Awards | Best Musical | Dancap Productions, Inc. |
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