Finding Neverland at ART -- Reviews & Thoughts

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 12:13am

Finding Neverland begins performances at ART on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014
Book by James Graham | Music and Lyrics by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy
Directed by Diane Paulus | Choreography by Mia Michaels
Based on the Miramax motion picture by David Magee and the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan by Allan Knee, Finding Neverland follows the relationship between playwright J. M. Barrie and the family that inspired Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, one of the most beloved stories of all time. Staged by A.R.T. Artistic Director Diane Paulus with music by U.K. pop sensation Gary Barlow (Take That) and choreography by Emmy Award-winner Mia Michaels ("So You Think You Can Dance"), this new musical explores the power of imagination to open up new worlds, and the pressures put upon those worlds by the inevitability of growing up. Finding Neverland is presented by the A.R.T. by special arrangement with Harvey Weinstein..

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 12:20am

Damn! I came online hoping someone here had seen it.

I don't go untl next weekend.

[emilyfaye48]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 12:32am

I'm drooling, please tell me everything, someone. How was J. Hud? Amazing amiright?!

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 12:38am

J HUD is not in this.

[djdan1079]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 7:49am

I will be there for tonight's performance. Any other posters going to be in attendance? Tweet me @djdan1033.

[CoreyRyan3]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 8:06am

I'm seeing this one week from today.

[allyk]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 8:14am

I'm not seeing this until next Saturday (Aug. 2). Very curious, though. I've never seen the movie but it's on On Demand, so I guess I can watch it this weekend.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 8:30am

^That's when I'll be there! We can compare notes!


Neverland Article in the Boston Globe

[matttaylorr021]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 9:45am

Seeing it next Thursday. Very excited!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 11:51am

Ally -- DON'T watch the movie! This way you will be able to experience the show as its own entity without any pre-conceived ideas. (I really like the movie, btw.)

I always think its interesting to see how opinions vary (on any adaptation) between those that have seen (or read) the original, and which have not.

[Blockhead24]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 2:31pm

broadwaystar..I'm pretty sure Emily was kidding.

Anyway, I can't wait to hear about this!

[Tom theater rat]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 4:04pm

Next Tuesday for me as well. Said I was not going to read anything before, but here I am....dying to know what you all think!

[David2]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 5:57pm

I have tickets for July 30th!! Dying for news on it.

[djdan1079]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 11:44pm

Just got home from the first preview and will just give you a very brief overview of my thoughts. I will preface by saying that I never saw the movie and am unable to compare this to the source material.

The show just didn't work for me. Conceptually, it feels like there are a lot of cooks in the kitchen and they have not found a cohesive theme for the production. The moments that do work are when the show embraces the fantasy elements of the story. Towards the end of act one, we begin to see Barrie "create" Neverland in his head and the onstage transformation is when it feels like the show will finally hit it's stride. The act 1 finale fantasy sequence where he does battle with Captain Hook and the ship begins to come together is very well staged by Paulus. However, act 2 gets caught up in more Lifetime movie bland sentimentality about family and living in the moment.

POSSIBLE SPOILER HERE???

The act 2 sequence around Sylvia's death is probably the highlight of the show and the moment where I could hear a lot of sobbing around me. While I found the visual breathtaking, I was left emotionally cold as I don't think Jordan and Kelly have found their chemistry yet.

END SPOILER

The score has a couple of nice pop ballads that don't seem to fit the period of the piece or mesh well with the rest of the score. The book drags. A lot. Especially in act 1 where much time is wasted on characters that I didn't care about. Poor Carolee is completely wasted here as Sylvia's mother. Jeanna De Waal gets a lot of stage time in act 1 and disappears for the rest of the show.

We have a human actor portraying Barrie's dog in the show. I guess it would work if the show was a fantasy piece, but since it's somewhere it between, the concept just seems cheap and borderline embarrassing.

On a positive note? Jeremy Jordan, who I was afraid would be too young for the part, is wonderful and is doing his best with the material. The ensemble to the show is fantastic and gets many moments to shine and provide some of the show's biggest laughs.

Harvey Weinstein was in the audience taking notes on an Ipad tonight and if you believe the Riedel columns, has been incredibly hands on with the project. Maybe this is why there doesn't seem to be a cohesive vision for the show? Too many varying opinions?

Run time was just under 3 hours. There is much that could be cut. Curious to check back on the thread and see how this shakes out during the preview process. Personally, I'm not interested in seeing it again. It's just not my kind of show.

Big Fish did the family relationship/sappy sentimental thing way better. And Big Fish wasn't that great.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 12:00am

A person as the dog?! WTF. Terrible.

Also, is this source material that amazing? I haven't seen the movie or anything, but Weinstein seems to be super stuck on this being a thing.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 12:25am

Well, the source material is an multiple Oscar-nominated film with critical raves...so yes, I'd say one adjective that could describe it is "amazing." Even more "amazing," however, is the true story in which the film (and now musical) is based on.

I would also like to mention that the stage production of PETER PAN traditionally (and effectively) uses an actor in a dog costume. Djdan's opinion is that it was off-putting in the show (s)he saw tonight. Why jump to the assumption that it is a "terrible" idea right off the bat?

[djdan1079]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 12:33am

Capnhook- And that is why I said I understand why they thought a human in a dog costume would work. Peter Pan, as a show, embraces the fantasy of Peter Pan. The tone of Finding Neverland is different, which IMO, made it a bad choice.

I'm reading tweets tonight from people in attendance who seemed to love the show. So maybe as a straight, mid 30's male, I'm just not in the demographic. Those audience members clearly saw a different show than I did.

And such is the beauty of live theater. We all see something different.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 12:33am

But, like they said, Peter Pan is a fantasy-based show. This show, for all I know, is going for realism. So to have an actor playing a dog, and then to have a scene with marital problems, etc. It just seems silly. Also, the original was of a different time. I just don't see that going over well.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 12:34am

How is Mia Michael's choreography?

[gleek4114]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 12:34am

Well even if it's a little rough right now, it was the first preview. I am hopeful for this show and I really want nothing but for it to succeed. I will (hopefully) be seeing it right before their run ends at ART, so I'll be interested to see what changes and almost certain cuts are made. How was the house? Pretty full? Also what did the audience think of it? And if possible can you post a song list?

[Back Row]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 12:45am

From what I could gather from talking to people who were walking out at the same time I did, DJDan's opinion is clearly an outlier. This was a thoroughly enjoyable, crowd pleasing show. Very well staged with some terrific performances. The staging was spectacular at times. (There were a number of moments that drew audible gasps from the crowd.) It stayed faithful enough to the source material so as not to alienate fans of the film, but it clearly stands on its own as a musical. Jordan was excellent, but Michael McGrath was a standout as well. And the dog was played by Thayne Jasperson, who showed himself to be a terrific physical comedian. One of the most enjoyable nights at the theater I've had in a long time.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 1:04am

Seeing this in a few weeks. Looking forward

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 1:07am

How was Laura Michelle Kelly? She's what I'm looking forward to the most.

[Back Row]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 1:17am

She brought humor and spark to a role that could easily have been one dimensional in the hands of another actress. I thought she was perfect. And she sounded wonderful.

[BD80]

Posted: 7/24/14 at 1:48am

I saw this in Leicester in the UK when it premiered and I hate to burst anyone's excitement but there's just no way there's a show in here that will wow anyone, or be a success in NY. Who is it supposed to appeal to? Not enough meat in it to appeal to adults and not fun enough to appeal to kids. It was sold them as a family show but kids around me were bored out of their minds.

I don't imagine some bland pop songs have helped matters. Some shows are just dead on arrival and this is one.

Also if Harvey Weinstein was sat near me with his iPad glowing away, I'd be really annoyed!