Finding Neverland at ART -- Reviews & Thoughts

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

I don't go untl next weekend.

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J HUD is not in this.

I'm seeing this one week from today.

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


Neverland Article in the Boston Globe

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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.

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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!

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.

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?

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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.

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?

Seeing this in a few weeks. Looking forward

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.