#motives

In the musical, it happens after Seize the Day, or more specifically, after Crutchie gets arrested. In multiple lines in the song you can hear Jack’s grief about losing this person he considered family, for example “Crutchie's calling me Dumb ----- just too damn slow”. Now this may not seem like much, but it definitely shows how Crutchie’s arrest caused Jack to spiral into this monologue about how the only way he will ever be content is by going to Santa Fe. He lost the one person that was keeping him from leaving, so he fully dove into the dream of Santa Fe. In the musical, Jack is grieving the loss of family, and sees Santa Fe as a way to deal with the grief.

Now let’s look at the movie, in which Santa Fe happens BEFORE the Seize the Day fight. It happens after the dinner with Davey’s family (or David, you choose). Why this matters is what the song is about. In the lyrics, you can hear Jack express his need for family, although he pushes it away- due to him not wanting to accept that he needs a community. This is even referenced in his argument with Davey, where he says he has no one tucking him in at night. In the lyrics, “So you ain't got any family, well who said you needed one. Ain't you glad Nobody's waiting up for you” it shows that how he’s reminiscing on the fact he doesn't have one, and the fact that Santa Fe could be his escape. He even says that when his thoughts begin to stray (his lack of a family bond) he would leave. The movie Santa Fe is Jack grieving the LACK of family, due to him never having one in the first place. 

Now when you compare these two Santa Fe’s, you can see the differences in each Jack. In the movie, he doesn't have anyone relying on him, he’s simply staying there because he has to, because he physically can’t leave. 

However, in the musical, it is implied that he could leave (although I doubt it). But it shows how he is staying because of the community he has built over the years. He doesn't see it at first, and Medda even has to talk some sense into him, but he stays in New York for community.

Where I’m getting at is that the two Santa Fe’s are built very differently, to the point that even though Movie Jack and Musical Jack are the same person, their reasons for their dreams are much different.