| Saturday's Warrior | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bob Williams |
| Produced by | Bob Williams Gary Lewis |
| Written by | Douglas Stewart |
| Starring | Erik Hickenlooper Cori Jacobsen Davison Cheney Bart Hickenlooper |
| Music by | Lex de Azevedo |
| Distributed by | Fieldbrook Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | 1989 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Saturday's Warrior is a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) musical written by Douglas Stewart and Lex de Azevedo. It was first performed in California in 1973 as a college project.[1]
In 1989, Bob Williams made a video version of the musical, keeping it true to the original play, and setting it on a stage as opposed to giving the movie a more naturalistic look. It is among the first popular LDS films to not be made or sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or Brigham Young University.[1]
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While waiting to be born in the pre-existence, a family of eight children promise each other that they will always be there for each other ("Pullin' Together"). The youngest, Emily, is afraid when her turn to be born comes around, their parents will be tired of having kids, and she won't be born into their family. The oldest, Jimmy, promises Emily he will personally see to it she will be born into their family. Julie, the second-oldest daughter, and Tod, another spirit in the pre-existence, promise each other that, while on earth, they will somehow find each other and get married ("Circle of Our Love").
However, finding themselves on earth, living a mortal life, no one remembers the promises they made before they were born. Julie finds herself desperately in love with Wally Kestler, who is now leaving to serve a two-year mission. Julie promises she'll wait for him ("Will I Wait For You?"). Jimmy, because of the influence of the other teenagers he is often in the company of, is upset when he learns his parents are going to have another baby (Emily). Jimmy is a typical confused teenager, influenced by peer pressure and rebellious against his parents. Pam, Jimmy's twin sister, who has medical problems and can't walk, talks to Jimmy and tries to help him sort things out ("Line Upon Line"). Jimmy is still confused and leaves home to live with his friends. But when Jimmy gets a phone call from his family telling him Pam has died, he begins some serious personal reflection ("Brace Me Up"). He decides to return to his family.
Meanwhile, Julie gets engaged to another man (named Peter), and writes a "Dear John letter" to Wally while he's still on his mission ("He's Just a Friend/Dear John"). Wally is devastated, but his companion, Elder Green, convinces him to "shape up" and keep preaching the gospel.("Humble Way") Though the two companions have not had much success proselyting, they find Tod, who has been searching for answers ("Paper Dream"). Julie decides she doesn't want to marry Peter after all, but when Wally comes home from his mission, he brings Tod with him, and Julie realizes he's the man she's been searching for all her life ("Feelings of Forever").
At the climax of the movie, Jimmy dies and meets Emily in Heaven. The joyously reunite, and then he says goodbye to her, as it's her turn to be born. Emily is born, and the main title song, "Saturday's Warrior", is played as a finale.
Musical Numbers, as included in the Original Play Soundtrack:[2]
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Although Saturday's Warrior is considered a classic in the Mormon community,[3] particularly in the Mormon Corridor, it is not well known in the rest of the world. The themes of Saturday's Warrior resound with many Latter-day Saints—that everyone is a literal child of God, and in remembering this, they will be better able to hold on to their morals and beliefs as they are increasingly criticized and ridiculed especially now, in what is called "the last days" (hence the title, Saturday's Warrior -- Saturday being the last day of the week, and this being the last days.) It also emphasizes the belief though their morals may seem restrictive, these morals actually give them more freedom. At the same time, Saturday's Warrior is notable for being a popular source of unofficial and unsanctioned doctrine such as pre-existence-founded romantic relationships reaching fruition during mortality.