The big draw on Broadway last week was a lavish back ers audition for “Leap of Faith,” the new musical from “Beauty and the Beast” and “Little Mermaid” composer Alan Menken.
Theater owners and investors gathered at the Little Shubert on West 42nd Street to watch a semi-staged run-through of the show, based on the 1992 Steve Martin movie about a flimflam evangelist.
Raul Esparza, who keeps getting nominated for Tony Awards he doesn’t win, played the preacher. Also in the cast were Sutton Foster, freed at last from “Shrek,” and Kendra Kassebaum, one of those cute blondes who roll out of the Glinda factory at “Wicked.”
“Leap” has been in the works for several years. The original director was Oscar winner Taylor Hackford, whose movies include “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Against All Odds” and “Ray.”
Although he’s married to a great theater actress — Helen Mirren — Hackford apparently doesn’t know stage right from stage left. He was, says a source, “clueless” about putting on a musical. His 2008 workshop of “Leap” was a dud. The producers ditched him, setting off rumblings of a nasty legal battle. Sources say the acrimony delayed the project for a year.
Veteran choreographer Rob Ashford is now at the helm.
Reaction to the reading was mixed, with the biggest complaint being the length: two hours and 45 minutes. That’s quite a sit for a semi-staged performance. At this rate, a full-fledged production should run about five hours and 25 minutes, making the musical a “Giant Leap of Faith.”
Ashford tried to defuse the lengthiness with levity.
“The first act runs one hour and 30 minutes,” he told the crowd. “Rest assured that will never happen again.”
My spies enjoyed the music, which is a mixture of country, blues, gospel and a couple of signature Menken pop tunes along the lines of “A Whole New World,” “Colors of the Wind” and “Suddenly Seymour,” which is from his best show, “Little Shop of Horrors,” written with the late, great Howard Ashman.
There’s a tuneful duet that “could have come out of any one of Alan’s movies for Disney,” says a source.
Glenn Slater‘s lyrics do the job, although a few complain they lack humor. The book, by Janus Cercone (adapted from her screenplay), seems a little underwritten, sources say. But the basic story is solid, if a bit sentimental and predictable.
The evangelist finds himself stranded in a small town suffering from a drought. He thinks he can take some money off the hicks but winds up examining his own conscience.
Sounds like “110 in the Shade” and “The Music Man” to me, but that’s not bad company.
Ashford’s on the verge of what could be a big directing career. His productions of “Parade” in London and Los Angeles got raves even from critics who think the show is a bore. His eagerly awaited revival of “Promises, Promises,” starring Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes, opens in April. And he’s at work on a promising new musical called “Finding Neverland,” about “Peter Pan” creator J.M. Barrie, for Harvey Weinstein, destroyer of one of my favorite shows of all time, “Nine.” (I’m also a big J.M. Barrie fan, Harvey, so watch it.)
With Ashford in charge, “Leap of Faith” is moving swiftly. Reps from the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles attended the reading and were practically jumping up and down with enthusiasm, sources say.
These regional theater types always lose their heads when they get to spend a few days in the big city. Look for “Leap of Faith” — a shorter version, let’s hope — to open at the Ahmanson in the fall, with a New York date set for next spring.
‘ENRON” may have some com petition.
Lucy Prebble‘s hit play from London, about the collapse of the infamous energy company, has been expected to sweep the prizes this spring. (It opens in April at the Broadhurst.)
Now comes word that another London hit, John Logan‘s “Red,” at the indispensable Donmar Warehouse, will also open in New York this spring.
The play is about expressionist painter Mark Rothko as he prepares to tackle a work he hopes will become his masterpiece. Alfred Molina is giving a critically acclaimed performance as Rothko, which he’ll reprise in New York.
Producer Arielle Tepper is playing cute to get a good theater for “Red”: She sent Robert Wankel, president of the Shubert Organization, a box of paintbrushes.