Leap Of Faith: The Musical - Original Broadway Cast Recording

It's always great to have a recording of a musical that had a very short run on Broadway. I saw Leap of Faith both in Los Angeles and New York and preferred the version done in L.A., which had some charming ballads sung by Raúl Esparza and Brooke Shields that were not in the New York version, when the character of Marva was changed from a waitress to the town sheriff who lacked the warmth that Shields provided to a developing romance between her and Esparza's character, Jonas Nightingale. The score is heavy on gospel music, which gets a bit monotonous after awhile, since several songs sound the same, but "Rise Up" and the title track are quite good. The CD booklet has a complete synopsis and all the lyrics. It is really well done. Glad to have this recording, but it is not one I will play with any frequency.

This album is great-the emotion in the songs is there, just as it is in the live versions from the show.I also really loved the bits of show dialogue thrown in.

Something's very wrong with Broadway in their rejection of this gem that had been so well received in other venues. Hoping for a revival with the original cast!

Great soundtrack

Lively music and good recording. A shame it only played a couple of weeks on Broadway, it sounds fun. They slightly modified the Steve Martin movie plot line, but the man who brought half the music from The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Little Shop of Horrors still has a magic touch.

Item as described. Service was good.

I already purchased this soundtrack on itunes but still had to have the CD. That's how much I loved this musical. Leap of Faith was my favorite show of this Broadway season (and I saw many). I loved everything about this show from the phenomenally talented cast to the beautiful Alan Menken music (from country to rock n roll to gospel) to the story and its message! I was so sad when it closed but thrilled when they announced there would be a cast album. I hoped that it would capture the emotions of the show. I was not disappointed. I won't include any spoilers, but I will say that there is a good amount of dialog in these songs that lead into the music which allows the listener to relive those moments during the show. If you weren't lucky enough to see this live, this album is the next best thing. Buy it. Now.

I never saw LEAP OF FAITH on Broadway, but I'm loving this score. It's filled with great Alan Menken songs performed by some of the best on Broadway. It's easy to follow the plot without having seen the show, and it makes for great repeated listening.The CD contains a beautiful liner booklet with pictures and an interesting note from Alan Menken.

Trotz der doch recht negativen Kritiken, welche die Show in den USA allgemeinhin erntete [...], gefällt mir LEAP OF FAITH sehr gut.Aber was weiß ich schon.

Bobby, Jonas...would the real Raul Esparza stand up, please? A few misguided souls thought his Bobby less than perfect in "Company". They were wrong. But, then, what does one do with Jonas, who is Bobby's flip side? I began the CD reluctantly, for I remembered a few accents that got lost, fortunately, along the way. And the musical almost goes backwards, not like "Merrily We Roll Along", but it opens with a few canon blasts, grabs us by the lapels, and momentarily appears to sink with cynicism. But when we reach the end, there is such joy, so much tenderness, and Jonas'"Soliloquy" which gives Esparza several of the best minutes Broadway has ever seen.The man is not merely talented; he is truly gifted.So what went wrong? Is NYC just unable to understand characters so far from its mainstream? Do we need to see "Guys and Dolls" every two or three years? Or did the audience come expecting to see Steve Martin? Esparza reaches heights, and depths, that Martin might only dream of achieving. Isn't "Guys and Dolls" almost hopelessly dated by now? (Okay, bring Peter Gallagher back and it might stand a chance.) Broadway turned down "Greenwillow" too, as well as dozens of good musicals. So, where does that leave us? Everybody who had a chance to see this terrific show and didn't, missed it because they took a "stupid pill"? Or as the age of ALW finally fades - thank heavens - what can he butcher now that "Wizard of Oz" is a screaming mess; it is time to move on, and "Leap of Faith" is a great leap to take.Sondheim opened the door to a great new world of musicals. One or two were duds - "Bounce" was too close to Sondheim himself to work.So much of it is cringingly autobiographical. "The Frogs" is an experiment, and one that needs to be locked away. But the rest? Fantastic. Alan Menken opened another door here. He didn't try to be Sondheim, and "The Little Mermaid" probably never crossed his mind. He pioneered in another direction, and like "Anyone Can Whistle", the public simply didn't understand what they were seeing. With most musicals, the songs can be removed, replaced, totally rewritten, assigned to whatever name has top billing. But not here. The songs of "Leap of Faith" are firmly entrenched where they are. They belong to the characters, and are a part of the plot as much as any line of dialogue. Perhaps there were too many of them, seventeen plus reprises, but they do not wear out their welcome. And some are as brief and haunting as anything Broadway as heard before, while others pull out all the stops and show us different sides of several people as they sweep us up.So, if you saw "Leap of Faith", you need this CD in your collection. If you didn't catch it, the CD is still sensational, and so very rewarding.Add some caviar to your diet. Buy the CD. You'll be hooked.