'Leap of Faith' to rise from the dead for Tony Awards show

By David Ng

May 31, 2012 7 AM PT

“Leap of Faith,” the recent Broadway musical that bombed at the box office and closed early, will receive a brief, Lazarus-like resurrection in June at the Tony Awards in New York. Producers of the musical have raised money so that an excerpt from the show can be performed during the ceremony, according to a report in the New York Times.

“Leap” received a Tony nomination for best new musical, but was shut out of the other categories. Best-musical nominees have traditionally performed scenes from their respective shows during the Tony ceremony, which will be held this year at the Beacon Theatre in New York and broadcast on CBS. Tony productions generally cost each show’s producers between $150,000 and $200,000.

The musical, which ran for just 19 regular performances at the St. James Theatre in New York, starred Raul Esparza as a fraudulent faith healer who experiences a spiritual awakening during a stop in a rural town.

“Leap” had its world premiere in 2010 in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre. The musical, based on the 1992 movie of the same name that starred Steve Martin, featured music by multiple Oscar-winner Alan Menken.

The Tony Awards are set for June 10 and are to be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.

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