I still can not stop thinking about this show after seeing it Sunday night. It is truly the most beautiful and emotionally moving piece of theatre I have ever seen.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
Saw a preview last week. I thought this was a weak and depressing new musical. Sort of dead on arrival. It feels like it's been stitched together with bits and pieces from old incarnations of the show, along with formulaic moments from lots of other musicals.
Ultimately, the score and book are just not good. You can try to dress it up with a magic trick here and a big dance number there - but it's still not a well written show. The scores reminds of Ghost and Wonderland. Some pleasing, generic pop songs that could be interchangeable with many other shows.
The good! Some pretty visuals and lots of the cast is winning. Matthew Morrison is talented and charismatic- but there is a major accent problem that I expect will improve. I also suspect his singing is not on par with Jeremy Jordan's. I didn't see JJ but I've heard him sing a couple of the big songs from the show and MM doesn't offer the vocal excitement that JJ did. Laura MK did though - she sounded great..
ljay -- I can practically guarantee that there are two stunning scenes alone that will be worth your admission price.
(Granted, I haven't seen the changes yet, but there was something that beautifully tugged at my heartstrings in Cambridge. No, it wasn't perfect, but I warm to anything that takes my breath away and warms my heart.)
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
I'll be seeing it in a few weeks...April 10th, I believe.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
Spoiler Alert. I was a self-proclaimed enthusiast for the A.R.T. production to the point of seeing it several times. I was determined to be at the first Broadway preview on Sunday and have no regrets for the decision. The show is hugely different now and so much better. New music, songs deleted, new dialogue, new choreography, new stagecraft. Many intelligent decisions have been made. The first 20 minutes are completely new. Barrie's introduction to the story is after Sylvia's death. We then see London's elite theatre goers about to attend his most recent play. There are three new songs at the top of the show from Barrie, the ensemble and the boys respectively. Frohman's song, "Better" has been deleted. The furniture moving scene is gone. The entire ensemble is now in "Believe." The slapstick in the dinner party scene has been toned down. I was never crazy about the guy in the dog suit. The decision for a real dog is much smarter. He makes a few brief appearances, but seemed a tad recalcitrant appearing for the first time in front of 1500 excitable audience members. I think he will become more comfortable after a few more performances. I was skeptical about Grammer, but thought he was excellent as Frohman. A completely different take on the role from Michael McGrath's. His Hook was a bit tentative at the first performance, but I'm confident that his comfort level will quickly kick in. He has a bit (as Hook) just before the love duet that tickled me. I liked Morrison who doesn't have the powerhouse voice of Jeremy Jordan, but certainly fine. He's still struggling with the accent which frequently disappeared completely. Perhaps he should just forgo it. The boys' 2nd act number, "We're all made of stars," has been simplified to much better effect. The two stunning coup de theatre moments that Dramamam611 mentions are still intact and even more stunning than before. I still have issues with extensive use of slant rhyme in many of the lyrics and would be very surprised if this was intentional. This is particularly noticeable in, the otherwise charming, "When your feet don't touch the ground:" "complicated/time I wasted," "face/day," "control/fault," "earth/hurt," "maze/amazed," etc. Many other rhyming missteps. This displays blatant and embarrassing laziness on the part of both Barlow and Kennedy as lyricists in their first endeavor at a Broadway score. It was, however, a smart new decision to use a reprise of this melodically touching song to end the show instead of "All that matters now." It was exciting being in that euphoric first performance audience. Since Sunday there has been a noticeable spike in ticket sales. Tonight sold out and the next few performances are close to that. Ticket sales are definitely brisk. I think that word-of-mouth and social media will be huge contributors to the success of this show.
So I'm curious, is this particular scene still in the show?
Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you.
--Cartman: South Park
ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."
I sure hope this production takes the Bartlett Sher route and change the necessary things before it opens. According to my theater friend who saw the preview: "It's almost there but they should take advantage of the time it has during previews."
That Barrie/family playtime moment is now a relatively quick part of the "Believe" number. In the original A.R.T. production that bit was in a more extensive family scene (now gone) later in the show.
"I sure hope this production takes the Bartlett Sher route and change the necessary things before it opens."
I can vouch for the fact that they were changing things in Cambridge as well. In fact, from what I've read, seen and....uh....heard, they've definitely revamped this show substantially since then.
Heck, I saw Porgy & Bess, also directed by Paulus, in Cambridge and by the time it got to Broadway, changes had been made to be sure.
Butters, go buy World of Warcraft, install it on your computer, and join the online sensation before we all murder you.
--Cartman: South Park
ATTENTION FANS: I will be played by James Barbour in the upcoming musical, "BroadwayWorld: The Musical."
I saw the show in Cambridge and was overall less than thrilled with what I saw there. I felt they had missed the mark almost entirely, I didn't understand the notion that pop music was the best way to convey the story. When I see that film, I think of beautiful, lush music, not so much the power ballads that seemed prevalent at ART. From a staging standpoint, I was mostly stunned that there were only a couple of those sort of signature Diane Paulus moments, in particular turning the stage into a pirate ship at the end of act one, and Sylvia's gorgeous final scene.
That being said, I went into the show tonight with completely fresh eyes, excited to see the result of what I heard was a lot of work.
And a lot of work it was.
The opening of the show is completely different. In Boston I remember it being this weird song about clocks and time, a theme that wasn't really mentioned much throughout the rest of the show. Now, we are introduced to James and Frohman quickly and the show moves at a brisk pace from there.
I'm happy to see that Mary's furniture song has been cut, as have the constantly dancing maids and butlers. The song seemed completely out of place and the dancing servants stole focus every scene they were in. The downside is that Mary now has almost no character development whatsoever aside from being mildly shrill and pretty rude to her dinner guests. Regardless, Teal Wicks sounds good with the little she has to sing--the score certainly suits her better than it suited Jeanna de Waal--and she looks beautiful in the costumes.
Matthew Morrison is a little more reserved than I remember Jeremy being, his playfulness seems to be more verbal than in action. He's not as jumpy or physical, but he has a really sweet rapport with all the boys, especially Aidan Gemme as Peter. Even though the keys have been lowered, I don't think it has made the score any less exciting. The act one closer, "Stronger" still soars and ends with a pretty thrilling staging moment. The chemistry between Laura and Matthew is there, though, probably could be stronger. It also doesn't hurt that Morrison has really never looked better.
Kelsey is good, funny, a little hammy. I didn't enjoy McGrath's performance in Cambridge at all, so I saw Grammer as a pretty vast improvement across the board. It seemed pretty obvious to me that a number of the book scenes were tailored around his specific sense of humor, and there's also a pretty unnecessary and totally anachronistic Cheers reference. His singing is passable, but the audience really just ate up everything he did.
The real standout for me, just as she was in Boston, is Laura Michelle Kelly. She is the beating heart and soul of this show, instantly likable, possibly the warmest and most welcoming stage presence of anyone I've ever seen onstage, and a voice that fills the Lunt Fontanne and brings the house down. Though she is the female lead, I feel like we're sort of short-changed some scenes of just Sylvia and her boys, without the grandmother or James being involved. Still, she all but steals the first act with her song, and her ****SPOILER**************
death scene is truly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen onstage, though, I just wish she would fly out the window at the close of the scene.
****END SPOILER*************
I think the biggest issue for me is the score. The songs are fun, they're entertaining and a number of them are quite catchy, but I feel like they work so against the story of the show. Quite a few of them are just beautiful pop songs sung by incredible voices, others certainly do further the plot. But at the end of the day, I just don't feel pop music is what this show needs. And a times, I think the music gets in the way of what could be very touching moments. However, the audience around me seemed thrilled by every song and each number got a pretty rousing ovation. It really is a crowd pleaser.
The book, tonally, seems all over the place. In the middle of what should be a heartwarming scene where the cast of Peter Pan performs the show for Sylvia in the nursery while her son narrates, we have jokes about the kids receiving royalties and Frohman intruding on the Captain Hook scene. If these little moments were cut, I think the entire ending would carry a little bit more emotional weight and depth.
The staging is pretty by the books, with the exception of the act one finale and Sylvia's final scene. I was pretty glad to see the ensemble was cut from "We're All Made of Stars" and it is instead just the four boys making instruments out of household objects and singing. It seems more genuine and sweet than the huge ensemble number it was in Cambridge. The only number I found to be ridiculous was "Circus in Your Mind." The song itself is what it is, not great, not terrible, not totally necessary. The staging of the dance break in the middle is insane bordering on camp, with projections of clocks, gears, and merry-go-rounds; the return of the dreaded clock tophats from the opening number in Cambridge, it just seemed completely absurd and out of sync with the rest of the show.
All in all, I did enjoy what I saw tonight. I know I'm not a very "seasoned" member here, but I do see a lot of what opens and while I don't think I would HEARTILY recommend Finding Neverland, I did find quite a bit to like. It's worlds better than what I saw in Boston, and I think they're in a good launching off point to make more changes and end up with a strong, enjoyable, and meaning family show.They've got the base materials, a very game cast--I cannot stress enough how wonderful LMK is--and weeks to tweak and work on it. I just hope they get the work done, I look forward to seeing the show again is it evolves throughout previews.
Saw the show tonight and overall I quite near loved it. The crowd, from older folks to a TON of school groups really had a fantastic time. There were some issues of course, but overall it was a great evening. I found Matthew Morrison, normally blah on Glee, to be warm and winning in the role. Yes, the accent needs fine-tuning, but he sang beautifully. He looked great and so did his pants. Kelsey was, well, Kelsey, but he knows how to work that to win the audience over, and have fun along with him. Laura Michelle Kelly was just fabulous. The kids were great, their Act 2 number had the audience clapping along! The ensemble was incredible. Sets, lights, costumes were gorgeous. Songs were great for the most part and many are singles on their own. Catchy and relateable. (Sound design left much to be desired, but I'm hoping that's just 2nd preview issues.) That final illusion is one of the most stunning things I've ever seen on the stage. You definitely get your money's worth and you leave on a real high. And it's a show kids (over 8 I think) can enjoy with their families. We need some real shows all ages can enjoy that don't speak down to audience, and this never does.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
The reception was all over the place for the A.R.T. production as well. I don't expect this to be a critical success by any means, but it does seem to push all the right buttons to be a commercial success. In such a crowded season, I would be shocked if it got much Tony recognition either, but I think its ticket sales will be fine without it. I liked the show in Cambridge, and I recognized that there were problems with the book (Is the faerie joke really still in there?). The score is not a traditional theater score. The show is not perfect. It appears to serve the needs of the producer, so adequate may be enough as long as it makes money. The bottom line is that it is doubtful that there will ever be a consensus on this show. Weinstein has created a lot of ill will toward the show through his scorched earth march to Broadway, so some people are never going to be on board. But I expect it to run for a long time and keep a lot of people employed, so that's good, isn't it?
GreasedLightning, I rushed the show this morning. We got in line at 8 and were the first ones there. Not sure how many tickets they gave out, I know it was at least 6, but I believe its subject to availability. The seats were front row on the wings, partial view where we barely missed anything.
