FINDING NEVERLAND Previews- Page 15

[djoko84]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 12:57pm

"They spent big bucks on this production and it shows in much of the stagecraft and the size of the cast. However the musical score is a grab bag of insipid cliches with lyrics in tow. If your taste runs to the musically uninventive and "haven't I heard that before" then this will work for you."

I agree 100% with this critique. I thought the show was awful and they used every cliche in the book. I couldn't wait till it was over. They easily could've cut out an hour off the show. Something Rotten! is by far the best show of the season.

[smidge]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 6:35pm

Does anyone know if any red carpet entrances are planned for opening night which can be viewed by the public? Harvey can never pass up an opportunity for promotion.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 6:45pm

" I thought the show was awful and they used every cliche in the book."

^ Wow, do I have a different take than the above poster.

Maybe my critiquing bar was set on "very low" today; maybe I'm in a fragile emotional state, but I just got back from an absolutely beautiful matinee of this show this afternoon and I just loved it! They found the heart and soul of what made the story so moving onscreen and captured it whole when they transferred it to the stage. A really surprising tear-stained reaction from yours truly.

Granted, among the treasures, there was lots on that stage that didn't amount to much at all-- some very peculiar choreography, lots of questionable costumes, a ton of unwelcome mugging from the ensemble, and an endless supply of insipid lyrics that were congenitally unable to find one true rhyme in stanza after stanza. (Do these people even know what a true rhyme IS anymore?)

But I thought the music was mostly swell and at times ravishing; the libretto flowed and moved and entertained in equal measure; the sets tried for a magical puppet-theater throw-everything-at-the-wall aesthetic that sometimes looked clunky but often succeeded in expressing the idea of pure imagination in visual terms.

Matthew Morrison was adorable and effortless and in lovely voice. Perfect casting. Kelsey was Kelsey all the way (take that any way you want). Carolee seemed to have wandered in from another show altogether (perhaps a Doyly Carte production of RUDDIGORE down the street), the boys were spot on, and Laura Michelle Kelly simply did exactly what the role required-- made you fall utterly in love with Sylvia. 

Best of all, Diane Paulus' patented coups-de-theatre mentioned by other posters higher up in this thread landed on target over and over during the afternoon. The staging here surpassed anything I'd seen in either PIPPIN, or HAIR, or PORGY & BESS, and each dazzlement was used in the service of a lovely emotional idea. Brava, and bravo, to one and all (with the possible exception of that lyricist).

 

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 4/12/15 at 06:45 PM

[rcwr]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 6:53pm

The lyricists and composers are the same people: Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy both wrote all the music and lyrics together.

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 6:58pm

Hysterical. They should each fire one half of themselves and hire new halves.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/12/15 at 7:31pm

Really glad to hear such positive review! I loved the show as well. Glad others are enjoying it despite its flaws and all the negative buzz. 

[sctrojan65]

Posted: 4/13/15 at 12:17am

I thought the show was beautiful.   And it had some "wow" moments that truly resonated with me, as well.   The performances were simply great, and I thought it was immensely creative.  

Some might consider certain aspects of, well, any show to be "cliche," or whatever.

But that doesn't matter to me.  If it works, it works.  And shows have been drawing on ideas and other things that have worked in previous shows since the beginning of time.  

All I know is I appreciated everything it had to offer.  

In each and every moment, it was getting the job done for me.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/13/15 at 9:11am

Hmmmmmm......saw this 2x in Cambridge and really loved it, although flawed.  Caught it over the weekend, and was less impressed, but not enough to dislike.  Of course, that could be that it WAS the third time and things are not as magical, or the fact that I was in the back of the mezz....which is, perhaps, twice as far away as the ART.

 

While I didn't dislike Morrison, I did prefer Jordan.  I thought Jordan was warmer and that his character had more fun with the boys.  His singing was first rate.

I was surprised how much I liked Grammer, although his voice was much stronger in Act I than II at that performance.

I like many of the changes, but actually MISSED the human/dog.  As an actual dog, there seemed no reason to actually have him.

Still didn't love any of the boys' performances, or their song. 

 

I don't know how many Tony noms this might muster (I wouldn't think too many) but I do think it will financially do quite well.

Also, as to Jordan's comments about audience and house staff, I had no such issues with my audience on Friday night...except that they were a bit noisy at the beginning of each act.  No issues with bad behavior or children.

[Sunny11]

Posted: 4/13/15 at 1:36pm

Run  has been extended from September to December, tickets have been made available for more dates. Unsurprising considering the sales so far.  

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/13/15 at 2:15pm

It has always been "open ended" - many new shows only release tickets a few months out at a time....to get those houses well sold.  (A technicality, really, but it wasn't "extended".)

[Back Row]

Posted: 4/13/15 at 4:37pm

I was disappointed to hear that they had eliminated the man/dog and the dancing servants, because both added a touch of whimsy to the production, which was part of its charm. I did think that a great deal of the appeal of the man/dog was due to Thayne Jasperson's playfulness and physical comedy skills, and that may have proved very difficult to duplicate with another actor in the role. But I agree that the dog really serves no purpose otherwise and I wonder why they didn't just eliminate it after they chose not to go forward with a man playing it. 

I think Harvey may have missed a prime marketing opportunity by not having a different former Newsie play Porthos every couple of weeks. I don't plan on seeing the show again, but I might have been tempted by the possibility of seeing Ryan Breslin/Porthos standing upright and smoking a cigar.

Updated On: 4/13/15 at 04:37 PM

[skies]

Posted: 4/13/15 at 7:01pm

Seems by some in the media more a referndum on Weinstein than anything else.   Haven't seen it yet, but my friend thought the "cliches" worked.

[rcwr]

Posted: 4/14/15 at 11:36am

2015 Independent Reviewers of New England Awards:

Best Supporting Actress (Musical) 
Carolee Carmello FINDING NEVERLAND (ART) 

Best Supporting Actor (Musical)
Michael McGrath FINDING NEVERLAND (ART) 

Best Actress (Musical)
Laura Michelle Kelly FINDING NEVERLAND (ART)

Best Actor (Musical) 
Jeremy Jordan FINDING NEVERLAND (ART)

Best Director of a Musical 
Diane Paulus FINDING NEVERLAND (ART)

Best Musical
FINDING NEVERLAND (ART)

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 12:25pm

Saw this last night and I'm just kind of baffled. Like, I don't get why people are flocking to it? It doesn't really have spectacle. It doesn't really have that interesting of a story. The characters aren't particularly well drawn. I don't get it? I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. 

There was just no concept. The set was this like story-book looking set, which was rather ugly and made the whole stage feel cramped. The set pieces tracked on, but I saw actors moving most of the scenery, which made the whole thing feel slightly cheap. I just thought the whole show would have this big, expensive look to it, and it looked cheaper than Pippin. There was only one moment of real "magic' and even it felt cheap by having the actors in the dark throwing things into the light. I thought there'd be flying and all this creative, inventive direction, but it was all very straight forward. 

The music was very English pop, which I don't mind, but it didn't particularly suit the story. "Stronger" is a catchy tune, but me and my friend were like "what is he stronger than?" The stakes didn't seem all that high for such an involved song with jungle drums and pirate ships. "Circus In Your Mind" and their duet in Act II were the highlights to me. But again, I felt like they were horribly staged. 

Morrison was fine. He was in great voice, and he seem committed. But that accent. It wasn't bad, but it just seemed over powering and a little hokey. 

Laura Michelle Kelly was just beyond to me. She was in glorious voice. I wish her big solo had been a better song, but she killed it. And her vocals throughout were pretty awesome. Just wish she was given more to do. She barely registers. 

Warlow was great. He was also in great voice, and really killed the part. 

The boy playing Peter was terrible. His vocals were off, and his big duet with Morrison was so awkward cause the harmonies were all out of key. The song is just too high for him. So why they would cast him I don't know. It doesn't sound good in his voice. 

Overall, I'm just confused as to why this is such a hit. I mean, they cast a So You Think You Can Dance winner as Peter Pan, and she doesn't do anything. She dances for 2 minutes in the opening and then disappears. What's the point of her? We're all waiting to see Peter Pan cause they've been talking about it for 2 hrs, and then we finally see her and she's in a terribly visible harness and then that's it. 

I don't get it.

 

[VotePeron]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 12:33pm

I'm glad someone finally shares my same feelings on this show! Infuriating! 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 12:58pm

I'm of two minds on FN-- you can see my emotional rave a few posts higher up on this page from when I saw the show on my own back in April. Had a great seat in the 5th or 6th row 3 or 4 seats off the aisle, and was surprised to find I had the time of my life. Full of enthusiasm for everything but its lyrics which I thought abominable, I giddily brought my husband to see the show in late June (when, as it turns out, both Kelsey AND Laura Michelle Kelly were out-- grrrr.) 

 

Long story short, my hubby HATED the thing, and frankly I could see his point. The thrill I had felt at least 4 or 5 times back in April as numbers built to their climax was weirdly missing now. Obviously the careful balance between the leads was absent (the man standing in for Grammer was especially inadequate), but nothing seemed to land as it had for me that first time. Even the creation of that pirate ship at the act one curtain which had me absolutely grinning from ear to ear in April-- even that moment seemed substandard on second viewing.

 

Which only means that if you LOVED Finding Neverland, I'm happy to agree with you.

And if you LOATHED Finding Neverland, I'm happy to agree with you. :)

 

Updated On: 8/30/15 at 12:58 PM

[rcwr]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 1:06pm

<i>So You Think You Can Dance winner as Peter Pan, and she doesn't do anything. She dances for 2 minutes in the opening and then disappears. What's the point of her? We're all waiting to see Peter Pan cause they've been talking about it for 2 hrs, and then we finally see her and she's in a terribly visible harness and then that's it. </i>

Melanie Moore flies/dances in a harness?? Wow, I hadn't heard that. Of all the changes they made from ART to Bway, that's one of the most surprising to me.

[bfreak]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 1:13pm

Does anyone know if Anthony Warlow is extending or if Kelsey's coming back in September. No announcement has been made and its getting close to the time when we should hear something.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 1:55pm

I'm not sure of the date, but was it ever in question THAT Grammer was returning?

[SweetLips]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 2:45pm

Heard recently that Mr Warlow is doing Fiddler in Australia early next year.

[bfreak]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 3:05pm

dramamama611 said: "I'm not sure of the date, but was it ever in question THAT Grammer was returning?

 

"

Yes. It was called a "temporary leave of absense" and they said he was coming back in September. Chris Dwan said on Instagram that the reason Kelsey took off was to spend time with his children who were home from college. I don't know what has transpired since, though.

[bfreak]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 3:09pm

^And the theatre still has all promotional pictures with him on it (except the marquee and the flags that had their picture and name) with the cast, and pull quotes that say "Kelsey Grammer is delightful!" or something like that which is telling that he should be making a return to the production soon.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 3:11pm

So where in "temporary leave of absence" makes you consider he won't return?  Or is just because you haven't had a return date confirmed?

[bfreak]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 4:07pm

Oh I think I misunderstood what you had originally said. I didn't doubt he was returning but I thought that was what you were saying. I was just curious about the return date because we haven't heard anything about it since. I'm sure he'll be returning this fall.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/30/15 at 9:40pm

At the very end before the final button, peter pan is lifted into the air. That's about it.