Theatre / Saturday's Warrior

The Music. The Magic. The Message.

Who are these children coming down,

Coming down like gentle rain through darkened skies?

Saturday’s Warrior is a religious-themed musical written by Douglas Stewart with music by Lex de Azevedo^note the composer for many Richard Rich productions, such as The Swan Princess. The musical was created by, features, and is aimed at members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so it assumes the audience will be familiar with (and support) Latter-Day Saint practices and beliefs.^note That said, the way it explores these concepts is not official Church doctrine. The title refers to the story's idea that human history can be divided into figurative "days," with our modern era being "Saturday"—the last “day” before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The story begins in heaven, where several sets of spirits wait to be born on Earth:

• Todd and Julie, a couple who promise to find each other;
• Jimmy and his many siblings, who promise to stick together as a family (and not forget Emily, the youngest); and
• Wally and Harold, who want to be the world’s greatest missionaries.

But when we next see these people on Earth, not everything is going as planned. Can they navigate circumstances of their birth, disability, doubt, and being paired with the incorrect Love Interests to fulfill their dreams?

Beginning life in 1973 as a college project, Saturday’s Warrior got a stage play performance in 1974 and was popular enough to get two sequels and two film adaptations (one in 1989, one in 2016), making it one of the first popular LDS films to not be made or sponsored by the LDS Church or Brigham Young University.

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Tropes present in Saturday’s Warrior include:

A-E

• Actually a Good Idea: While Julie is writing in her journal about marrying Peter, Ernie makes fun of her by guessing what sappy, flowery language she’s using. Alice says Julie would never write anything so stupid… only for Julie to like Ernie’s words and immediately write them down.
• Adaptational Context Change: In the stage play, "Voices" is sung by Todd, explaining how he tried the life Jimmy is currently living and it didn't work out for him. In the 1989 film, the removed "Voices" sequence doesn't involve Todd (or lyrics) at all and focuses solely on Jimmy. Todd's advice to Jimmy takes place entirely in a conversation, making the interaction less dramatic and more grounded.
• Adapted Out: "Voices,” which takes place between “Paper Dream” and “Brace Me Up” in the stage play, is left out of the 1989 film. A version of it was shot, but was presumably cut either for tonal reasons or weirdness.
• Aloof Big Brother: Jimmy becomes one on Earth. He often spends time away from his family, stays quiet and distant when he is home, and is generally a jerk to his younger siblings. During one family gathering, many of the other kids realize that while they love Pam, they don’t really like Jimmy.
• Ambiguous Situation: It’s not clear if the Matron is someone waiting for her turn on Earth like the main characters, or if she’s already lived, died, and come back to heaven.
• Amnesiac Hero: Almost the entire cast, since we see them before they’re born and can contrast that with their personalities on Earth. Just about everyone is more flawed on Earth: Jimmy gets noticeably meaner and angsty, Wally is whiny, and the younger Flinders siblings often don’t get along. Only Pam is about the same on Earth as she was before, which is probably why she handles getting her memories back after dying so well.
• Amnesiac Lover: Todd and Julie are deeply in love while in heaven, but end up living in different places on Earth with no memory of their earlier relationship besides some unexplainable longings. The B-plot of the story is the sequences of events that lead up to them reuniting.
• Amnesiac Resonance: People born on Earth forget all about their life back in heaven. The characters are aware of this before they go down and some even plan around it.
  • “Circle of Our Love” is Todd and Julie sketching out their first meeting on Earth. It ends up going word-for-word as rehearsed.
  • Jimmy and Pam, on the other hand, come up with a “secret thing” as an experiment: they put their hands on each other’s knees while sitting. They still do this while on Earth, though they don’t remember why.
  Pam: Why do we always do that?
  Jimmy: I don’t know.
• Annoying Younger Sibling: The sarcastic Benji and Ernie are this to the family as a whole while on Earth, but specifically Benji to Julie and Ernie to Alice, the sisters immediately older to them.
• Answer Cut: As Elder Kessler and Elder Green walk through the park proselyting…
  Elder Kessler: Do you really think there are people out there searching, Elder? I mean, right here in this very town?
  [Cut to Todd, who starts singing “Paper Dream”]
• Artistic License – Religion: Just about everything shown about heaven is the story's own interpretation, not based on anything concrete in Latter-Day Saint doctrine. The biggest example is the Matron, who's in charge of sending spirits down to Earth to be born. She probably is in the story to be a fallible authority figure for the characters to interact with.
• Berserk Button: Throughout the play, Dad Flinders does his best to control his temper around Jimmy. Once Jimmy learns his parents are expecting their eighth child (Emily), he gets angry and tells his mother, “Maybe next time you’ll just drop a whole litter!” (Implicitly calling her a bitch.) Dad Flinders immediately slaps Jimmy for insulting Mom Flinders, which makes Jimmy run away from home.
• Born During a Storm: A thunderstorm knocks out the power in the Flinders home shortly before Emily is born at the finale, forcing the kids to light candles.
  Matron: It’s a stormy place down there, and it’s a stormy Saturday night.
• Big Damn Reunion: Three.
  • Emily reuniting with Pam after she dies in heaven.
  • Jimmy coming back to his family at Pam’s funeral.
  • And, near the end of the story, Julie and Todd finally finding each other.
• BSoD Song: “Brace Me Up,” sung by Jimmy during his Darkest Hour after he learns Pam has died from her illness.
• Byronic Hero: By the time we see him on Earth, Jimmy’s become one of these. He’s brooding, sullen, cynical, rebellious, and prone to lashing out in anger. He spends much of the story pursuing freedom, but eventually gets better.
• Celestial Paragons and Archangels: Downplayed with the Matron. She's in charge of telling other people in heaven when it's time to go to Earth and can also potentially mess up where people are born (though the one time she did, it got fixed by the maternity nurses.) Still, she looks the same as the people around her and doesn't have any special powers of her own; it's implied to still be God who does the actual transporting.
• The Chew Toy: Wally Kessler. His first attempt at being born fails to go through, his preaching mission is (mostly) unsuccessful, he gets dumped by Julie via “Dear John” letter, and he breaks down in utter despair at losing Julie a second time, but all these are Played for Laughs.
• Clean, Pretty Childbirth: Averted in the 1989 film: when Emily is born at the finale, she still has some blood on her forehead.
• Cool Big Sis:
  • Pam, the oldest Flinders child, helps Ernie with his math, Alice with her piano lessons, and Jimmy with his doubts. When the siblings are musing with their parents on which child they’d give away if they had to choose, they all unanimously want to keep Pam.
  • To a lesser extent, there’s Julie, the second-oldest sister after Pam. She tries to be a peacemaker between Benji and Jimmy, lets Alice and Shelly hang around her frequently, and reads Shelly stories at night.
• Counterpoint Duet: “He’s Just A Friend” has Julie and her sisters sing one set of lyrics while Wally and his missionary buddies sing another set, with both joining together at the end.
• Cringe Comedy: Once Elder Green mans up a bit, his attempts to proselyte to people in the park are incredibly awkward—and really funny to watch. Lampshaded by Elder Kessler, who says he’s making a total fool of himself.
  [Elder Green throws himself on the ground in front of a man.]
  Man: What on Earth are you doing here?
  Elder Green: Have you ever asked yourself that question?
  Man: You’ve, uh, escaped from somewhere, haven’t you?
  [Pats Elder Green condescendingly on the cheek before walking away.]
• Cue the Sun: In the 1989 film version, when Jimmy returns to his family at Pam’s funeral, the sun breaks through the storm clouds and shines on them.
• "Dear John" Letter: Wally makes Julie promise she won’t send him one of these while he’s on a mission (“Will I Wait For You?”), but she ends up sending him one anyway in “He’s Just A Friend.” Wally is still whining about it in his next scene.
• Déjà Vu: Played with. Characters remember things from their time up in heaven, though often don’t understand or recognize them or even outright dismiss the feeling.
  • “Circle of Our Love” is Todd and Julie planning their future first conversation on Earth. Both predict they will recognize each other but won’t remember from where.
  • Elder Green says Elder Kessler looks familiar to him and guesses they must’ve known each other in heaven, but Elder Kessler laughs at this.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life:
  • Jimmy is unhappy and trying to find a solution. When Pam asks him what he wants to be the “holy grail” of his life quest, Jimmy suggests freedom. In "Brace Me Up," he realizes his time with Mack has left him unfulfilled and doesn't know what to do.
  • Todd has a goal of what he wants to become ("Paper Dream"), but no clue how to get there. In the stage play's version of “Voices,” he tells Jimmy about the different things he's tried and how they've all left him with nothing.
• Disney Acid Sequence: The cut “Voices” number from the 1989 film. It’s a trippy sequence featuring color filters, cuts to real-life footage, and dancers with glowing outfits.
• Disposable Fiancé: Peter, Julie’s unseen fiancé which she meets sometime before “He’s Just A Friend” and becomes engaged to. By the time of “Feelings of Forever,” she’s having doubts and ends up bailing on Peter just three days before the wedding.
• Distant Duet: “Feelings of Forever.” Julie is in her room, Todd is in the park, and both are singing different parts of the same song as they muse on their eternal nature.
• Double Entendre: Jimmy accidentally comes up with one while with Mack’s gang.
  Girl: Can you believe that? Twenty siblings?
  Jimmy: It’s just a publicity stunt. We do it with mirrors.
  Girl: You do it with mirrors?
• Dramatic Irony: The entire first act in heaven sets up a load of irony for when things get to Earth:
  • Julie, who promised to be with Todd, is now Wally’s girlfriend. When she gets a feeling that marrying Peter isn’t right, she (mis)interprets this to mean she should be with Wally.
  • Jimmy tells Benji he didn’t ask to be his big brother when the two were actually ecstatic about being brothers back in heaven.
  • When Elder Green tells Elder Kessler he remembers him from “the preexistence,” Elder Green laughs and says he’s got a good sense of humor.
  • When Elders Kessler and Green are proselyting in a park, they pay no attention to Todd sitting quietly on a park bench nearby, drawing.
  • Elder Kessler brings Todd along with him to meet Julie, having no idea he’s about to become a Romantic Runner-Up.
• Earth Song: “Zero Population” is a downplayed (and rare villainous) example. Mack and his gang sing about how Earth is suffering due to humans and fear there will be no resources in the future unless humans curb their population.
• Eternal Love: Todd and Julie aspire to this. They’ve presumably known each other for a long time up in heaven and plan to be together after they die—it’s just the finding each other in the middle on Earth that’s the tricky part.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Todd gets one of these as he reads The Book of Mormon.
  Tod: It all fits together now. I lived before I came here!
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": God and Jesus are not directly seen (though They’re referred to), so the person seen running things in heaven is a middle-aged woman referred to in the credits as the Matron.

F-O

• Failed a Spot Check: Elders Kessler and Green see Todd while proselyting in the park, but it doesn’t occur to them to actually talk to him—they just assume he’s not the type to listen.
• Fanservice Extra: The girls in Mack’s gang, who bare their midriffs, Supermodel Strut, and dance seductively around Jimmy.
• Fluffy Cloud Heaven: A variation in the 1989 film. While in heaven, the characters do look like they’re standing on clouds, but the background looks like outer space. It’s even exploited when Benji sticks his head down through the clouds to yell at Earth below.
  Benji: Fellow citizens of the planet!
  Jimmy: They can’t hear you down there.
• Forgot the Call: While up in heaven, Jimmy is positively raring to go live on Earth. He’s confident he will be a faithful believer in God and a good older brother. Down on Earth, though, he doesn’t remember his pre-birth ambitions or promises and is fed up with his family, preferring instead to run off with Mack and his gang.
• Freudian Slip: In the letter where she finally dumps Wally, Julie begins by saying “Dear John” before correcting herself to “Dear Wally.”
• Friendship Song: “Humble Way” is about Wally and Harold’s desires to work together and be the greatest missionaries the world has ever known.
• Genre Savvy: Elder Green immediately recognizes Julie and Todd have fallen in Love at First Sight and drags the despairing Elder Kessler away.
  Elder Green: Forget it, Kessler. She’s history.
• The Ghost: Peter, Julie’s Disposable Fiancé that she dumps Wally for, never appears onscreen.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: The Flinders family plans an elaborate birthday party for Jimmy to try and reconnect with him. Despite a bumpy start, it’s mostly going well until Shelly innocently says Mom and Dad have their own surprise for Jimmy. In the argument that follows, Jimmy runs away from home, meaning the birthday party ended up driving him even further away than before.
• Gospel Revival Number: “Humble Way” good-naturedly evokes this, complete with a gospel-sounding choir. Wally even ushers in the song by acting a bit like a preacher.
  Wally: Truth! Freedom! Saaaaaalvation!
• Grew a Spine: On Earth, Harold Green is introduced as a bumbling wimp that Wally bosses around and doesn’t take seriously. It’s only after Wally’s excessive whining due to being dumped by Julie that Elder Green finally steps up as senior companion and whips him into shape.
• Grief Song: “Brace Me Up,” which is Jimmy’s sadness upon learning Pam has died and not knowing what to do with his life.
• The Heart: Pam is this for the Flinders family. As oldest sibling and Jimmy’s twin, she’s a voice of wisdom that Jimmy trusts even as he distances from his parents, and her siblings follow her lead.
• Heroic BSoD: Jimmy goes through one when he gets the phone call that Pam just died. “Brace Me Up” is him processing the news and trying to decide what to do next, whether it’s staying with Mack or going back to his family.
• Hidden in Plain Sight: Todd is sitting there on the park bench from the moment Elders Kessler and Green first arrive to proselyte, but they don’t notice and talk to him until almost the very end of the story.
• Indignant Slap: When Jimmy insults Mrs. Flinders, in a Moment of Weakness Mr. Flinders slaps Jimmy across the face. The whole family is stunned by this, and it's the last straw for Jimmy, who immediately leaves the house.
• Instant Birth: Just Add Labor!: It takes a little over a minute of screentime from when Mom Flinders goes into labor for Emily to be born.
• "I Am" Song: “Sailing On,” where Jimmy talks about his fears and excitement about going to Earth and is confident his faith will weather any trial he comes across.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: It’s partly Jimmy’s grief over Pam dying and not being there when she passed that makes him go back to his family and be the awesome big brother he should be.
• "I Want" Song: Two.
  • “Humble Way,” where Wally and Harold talk about their desire to be the world’s greatest missionaries.
  • “Paper Dream,” where Todd wishes to be someone who knows who he is, has conquered his fears, and has a cause to fight for.
• I Will Find You: Said word-for-word by Todd during “Circle of Our Love” when he promises to reunite with Julie on Earth.
• I Will Wait for You: Julie does this twice: once for Todd while in heaven, and once more comically with Wally during “Will I Wait For You?”
• Kick the Dog: Jimmy gets in an argument with Benji—the main comic relief of the Flinders siblings—for “getting in his business” and throws him to the ground.
• Last Place You Look: The very last person that Elders Kessler and Green talk to in their very last week together just so happens to be Todd, who listens to them.
• Love at First Sight: When Julie and Todd finally meet at the end of the story, they are immediately stricken with each other. Slightly lampshaded and Played for Laughs, as they don’t break eye contact even when Wally waves his hand in front of Julie’s eyes.
• Massive Multiplayer Ensemble Number: “Brace Me Up (Production Number)” features Jimmy, Pam and Emily, Mack’s gang, and Jimmy’s family all singing their own different parts as Jimmy decides what to do with his life.
• Massive Numbered Siblings: The Flinders family has seven children: Pam, Jimmy, Julie, Benji, Alice, Ernie, and Shelly. This is actually a plot point, because Jimmy’s friends convince him such a big family is bad for the planet, leading to conflict with his parents when he hears they’re expecting an eighth (Emily).
• Morality Chain: Pam is this to Jimmy, being his twin. She’s able to rouse his spirits when he’s doubting his faith and is the only member of the family he still communicates with after running away from home.
• Movie Bonus Song: For the 2016 film, Lex de Azevedo composed new songs: “Blink of an Eye,” “Never Enough,” “There’s Got To Be More,” and “More To This Life.”
• Ode to Family: “Pullin’ Together,” where all the Flinders siblings sing about how they can face any challenge in Earth life as long as they have each other.

P-Z

• Panicky Expectant Father: Subverted. Mr. Flinders has had seven kids already, so if anything he’s a little too casual when Mrs. Flinders says she thinks the baby’s coming.
• Parental Love Song: “Didn’t We Love Him?”, where Mom and Dad Flinders sing about their worries with Jimmy and Jimmy sings about his frustrations with his parents.
• Parents as People: On the whole Dad Flinders comes off as a Reasonable Authority Figure who tries to help his kids while keeping a sense of humor, but he’s clearly stumped on how to handle Jimmy. Gradually growing more frustrated throughout the musical, he tries his best to rein in his temper… until Jimmy hits his Berserk Button by insulting his wife. Still, it's clear he loves Jimmy, and the two reconcile by the end of the play.
• Pep-Talk Song: “Line Upon Line.” Jimmy confides in Pam his doubts and Pam assures him that things will work out fine in the end and he will get answers to his questions eventually.
• Pet the Dog: Mack and his gang are presented as a clear bad influence on Jimmy. Still, one of the girls seems genuinely concerned for Jimmy when she comes to tell him there’s an urgent phone call from home for him.
• The Power of Family: One of the main themes of the film, spelled out in “Working Together.”
• Prophetic Names: A variation. Everyone up in heaven is referring to themselves by the names they’re going to be called on Earth. Do they already know what their parents will name them, or are their parents inspired to call them by their already-chosen names?
• "Reason You Suck" Speech: Benji gives one to Jimmy after Jimmy accuses Benji of sticking his nose in Jimmy’s business.
  Benji: You think I’m afraid of you? Someone who doesn’t have the guts to do what he knows is right?
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Jimmy is the passionate Red Oni to Pam’s patient Blue Oni. Dad and Mom Flinders are also Red and Blue to each other, with Dad being more decisive (and having a worse temper) and Mom being more gentle.
• Romantic False Lead: Wally is this for Julie before Julie dumps him for Peter, another false lead. Unusually for this trope, though, Wally has his own character arc independent of his role in Todd and Julie’s story.
• Romantic Runner-Up: Though Julie’s Disposable Fiancé Peter never appears onscreen, from what little we hear about him he seems a decent guy with no obvious flaws (unlike Wally’s whininess.) Julie breaks off their wedding not out of any real concerns about Peter, but a gut feeling she needs to be with someone else.
• Sacrificial Lion: Pam, The Heart of the Flinders family and Jimmy’s Morality Chain, dies in the final half hour of the story to trigger Jimmy’s Heroic BSoD and get him to reunite with his family.
• Screaming Birth: Justified. When Mrs. Flinders goes into labor delivering Emily, she’s at home and thus can’t get an epidural or any kind of anesthesia.
• Setting Update: Some slight changes in the 1989 film show that it's not the early 70s anymore. For example, the message to Jimmy that Pam has died is delivered by telegram in the stage play but done through a phone call in the film.
• Sexy Villains, Chaste Heroes: The members of Mack’s gang, both male and female, tend to show a lot more skin than any of the “good” characters.
• Shout-Out: Pam’s birthday present to Jimmy is tickets to Camelot and likens Jimmy to being a knight in shining armor on a quest.
• Soap Opera Disease: It’s never stated what exactly Pam’s illness is, just that it leaves her wheelchair-bound (keeping her from dancing), and later hospitalizes her.
• Softer and Slower Cover: Downplayed. After finding Todd and teaching him about Jesus Christ, Elder Kessler and Elder Green celebrate by breaking into a rousing reprise of “Humble Way”… but, since they’ve both gone through Character Development, they remember themselves and sing the final words in a quieter, humbler way.
• Song of Prayer: Jimmy asks heaven to help him in “Brace Me Up.”
• Spirit Advisor: Pam in heaven with help from Emily briefly acts as one to Jimmy during “Brace Me Up (Production Number)”, though it’s unclear if Jimmy can hear what’s being said.
• Stab the Sky: As the closing credits begin in the 1989 version, Jimmy is seen holding a sword and raises it to the sky in this pose.
• Summon Backup Dancers: During “Sailing On” in the 1989 film, a trio of young women appear and start dancing to the music while Jimmy sings.
• Tempting Fate:
  • In heaven, Pam says “With beauty or without, as long as I can dance my way through life, that’s all that matters.” Guess what happens to her once she gets down to Earth?
  • Early in the story, the children discuss which one of them they’d give up if they had to pick. Everyone universally agrees they should keep Pam. Naturally, Pam is the member of the family who dies.
• Time Abyss: Assuming Wally’s comment of waiting “ten zillion years” to be born is true, all the spirits in heaven have been around for a very long time.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Pam, the kindhearted and wise oldest sister of the Flinders family, ends up succumbing to her Soap Opera Disease and dying young.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Jimmy is a kind and supportive older brother while up in heaven. Down on Earth, he’s become an Aloof Big Brother who is mean to his siblings and disrespectful to his parents.
• Took a Level in Kindness: After his Despair Event Horizon, Jimmy becomes much closer to his pre-birth heavenly self.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Mack, the leader of a gang that Jimmy hangs out with. He criticizes Jimmy’s family and encourages Jimmy to leave home and live a wild lifestyle with him.
• Two Lines, No Waiting: The main plot of the story is Jimmy’s struggles with his family and finding his way in life. The B plot is Julie and Todd trying to find each other, which involves her relationship with Wally and his missionary work.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: During “Didn’t We Love Him?”, Mom and Dad Flinders remember when Jimmy was younger and trusted them. In the 1989 film, this is combined with photos and footage of Jimmy as a little boy to drive the point home.
• Unnamed Parent: While Dad Flinders’ first name is mentioned a few times (Bob), Mom Flinders’ first name is never revealed.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: After all the presents have been given at Jimmy’s birthday party, Shelly blurts out that Mom and Dad have a surprise for Jimmy. Mr. and Mrs. Flinders clearly hadn’t planned on telling Jimmy right at that moment they were expecting an eighth child but can’t hide it now that Shelly’s brought it up. This leads to an argument and Jimmy leaving home.
• Villain Song: Mack gets two: “Zero Population” (a Villainous Advice Song) and “Summer of Fair Weather” (a Villain Recruitment Song.)
• Villainy-Free Villain: Mack is the closest thing the story gets to an antagonist, but he’s not seen breaking the law or treating Jimmy or any of his gang poorly. Pam insists after she dies that Mack isn’t Jimmy’s friend and will “leave [Jimmy] alone in the end,” but we don’t get a chance to see this. In a way it’s more Mack’s lifestyle that’s a problem to Jimmy, not Mack himself.
• Wham Shot:
  • At the beginning of “Daddy’s Nose”, we see the whole Flinders family dancing… except for Pam, who’s in a wheelchair.
  • Immediately after “Dear John” and around the halfway point of the play, Elders Kessler and Green walk into a park… and Todd is sitting on one of the benches, after being gone from the story since the second scene 50 minutes of runtime earlier.
• Wistful Amnesia: Julie ultimately calls off her engagement to Peter because she can’t help but feel there’s something important she’s forgetting. The audience knows that it’s Todd, though Julie initially misinterprets the feeling to mean she must go back to Wally.

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These are they, who come forth on Saturday.