Finding Neverland at ART -- Reviews & Thoughts — Page 11

When are people going to hear me when I speak the truth about Diane Paulus and original musicals?

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No I did not because I don't have enough money to waste on Diane Paulus's original work. Any of it.

You know how people are always mean about Courtney Love and her collaborators? Well, I LOVE Courtney but not Diane. Diane's good work is based on revivals of shows and what new "collaborators" can supply her for a gimmick. It's Le 7 doigts de la main you can thank for the visual splendor of Pippin.

I hope you didn't pay a lot for one of the house seats nobody wants?

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Updated On: 9/7/14 at 10:27 PM

I'm pretty sure they're charging that over at the ART for the unused house seats. And of course they hit up everybody who buys a ticket online after the fact, telling them that ticket prices aren't the HALF of it and could you please cough up more money. Funny how there's no return on that investment when ART goes to Broadway. THEN it's a for-profit venture.

Diane Paulus is worse than the NFL.

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Whizzer didn't like it….why am I not at all surprised.

"When are people going to hear me when I speak the truth about Diane Paulus and original musicals?"

The answer to that is….we won't.

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Updated On: 9/7/14 at 10:41 PM

"I mean I'm only one opinion and some people apparently are really loving it"

For this statement, I take my comment to you back. Thank you for acknowledging outside opinion. That's all I have to say.

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I took issue with Sylvia's characterization (on paper), especially in regards to her illness. She's first seen running around a park, then she's belting some Wizard and I/Someone Like You power ballad, then she's leading the ensemble in a call and response Irish dance and then she's full-blown ill. They couldn't write in a cough or two during act one where she assures her children that she's alright and it's "just a little cold?"

Her relationship with Barrie, and his with his wife, should both be much more complex. The wife (and her stupid song about the furniture) are all wrong. There's no sexual tension or frustration between the two of them and she's too air-headed to ever be upset with him. There's no indication as to what their relationship was like when times were good and what has caused them to drift apart. (I guess they didn't need to hire David Lee as their divorce lawyer either! Talk about an amicable split!)

A non-sexual romance at the heart of the story should feel surprising and perhaps even daring, but instead it's just dull. Of all the moments when I felt there could have been a bombastic pop power duet, their love duet was boring and they rolled around on the floor. It was weird.

I think a more interesting ballad for Sylvia in act one would be a quieter song where she expressed her fear of dying and orphaning her children after they have suffered so much emotional trauma after losing their father. That would make her character 100x more interesting, and it's certainly not something you see explored all the time in musical theater.

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I saw this over the weekend and I mostly agree with Whizzer. When I made the trek out to see Pippin at ART, I was absolutely blown away. The show was ready to open on Broadway immediately with very few changes.

Finding Neverland felt like an unfocused first draft. Especially in Act 1, the sets and costumes made it feel like I was at a children's community theater somewhere. The dog's costume especially is embarrassing. My friend and I mentioned it looked like Flounder's "costume" from the Little Mermaid!

The direction from Paulus was very disappointing. There is a brilliant piece of magic in Act 2 that she deserves full credit for that was really breathtaking. The Act 1 finale was ok, but everything had been so drab before that, that it didn't really do much for me.

I wanted more magic, especially with Barrie bonding with the kids. I kept thinking of Marry Poppins, and even Big fish who both tackle this better. We get some sheets and a rather poorly done mermaid costume. I understand this is not the 11 million dollar musical that we will see on Broadway, but I kept thinking about the brilliant staging of something like Peter and the Starcatcher that found magic with a single piece of rope. Surely Paulus could have given us a little more.

The music was largely forgettable. There are a few nice power ballads, but much of it has little melody.

I liked Laura Michelle Kelly though I wish she had more to do. I felt like Jeremy was mostly miscast. Much of the score didn't seem to fit his voice well and I thought someone in that role needed a little more warm. I kept thinking that Gavin Lee or Gavin Creel would be a great fit. Also miscast was Michael McGrath who seemed to be totally bored with his role. I kept wishing Roger Bart had not been let go from the production. Carolee Carmello had nothing to do except look disapproving which in itself was a crime.

They have some time to fix these issues, and I am sure the physical production will look much better on Broadway, but I feel like a few more years in development might help.

To clarify I mean many of the sets, many of which are rather cheap and flimsy, and Harvey Weinstein mentioned that the production would be re-vamped to be an 11 million dollar production versus the 2 million dollar one that is at ART right now. I would hope that especially some of the ones in act 1 would be re-done at least to some degree.Also, many of the costumes could likely be fixed as well.

His instagram post from last night definitely did not give off the sense of "goodbye Mr. Barrie...until a few months on Broadway." It was just, goodbye.

link: http://instagram.com/p/td7CBhkFRq/?modal=true

"There's no indication as to what their relationship was like when times were good and what has caused them to drift apart. (I guess they didn't need to hire David Lee as their divorce lawyer either! Talk about an amicable split!)"

Barrie's relationship with his wife and their subsequent divorce (VERY scandalous for a celebrity of Barrie's stature in that time) could make for a full blown musical itself, with no help from Sylvia and the boys. Mary Barrie later confirmed with friends that James had never consummated the marriage. This is what drove her into the arms of Gilbert Cannan, who was working with James on anti-censorship legislation. Their affair was revealed to Barrie by the gardener of his country home, whose wife had witnessed Mary and Gilbert having their meetings at the home while Barrie was in London. At first James refused to allow her a divorce, as the scandal would have been ruinous. He even consented to a separation as long as mary swore to never see Cannan again. But Mary insisted on a divorce as she wanted children --something Barrie never needed to worry about as he just commandeered other people's children. In his will, James left £1,000 plus £600/year for life to "My Dear Mary Canaan". The whole thing was fascinating and a bit creepy.

"They couldn't write in a cough or two during act one where she assures her children that she's alright and it's "just a little cold?" "

I agree, her illness seemed to come out of nowhere right smack in the middle of Act 2. She should have been sick by the end of the first act, allowing Barrie and Peter to have a big emotional Act 1 finale, with Sylvia as well.

To dave1606: " There is a brilliant piece of magic in Act 2 that she deserves full credit for that was really breathtaking."

If I am thinking of the same magical moment, you might want to look in your program where it gives full credit to an "air sculptor".

The score was completely forgettable and nowhere near as good as the small snippets of music I heard from the original score when it played in the UK.

As I have said here before, I don't see this show making its way to Broadway in its current incarnation in any way, shape or form. I think Harvey announced the Broadway transfer to save face and I doubt we will hear anymore about it.

Updated On: 9/28/14 at 11:48 AM

There seems to be a growing list of people who, for various reasons, are rooting for this show to fail. For some, it may be because of Paulus. For more, it is undoubtedly because they don't like Weinstein's bull in a china shop approach to producing (A.R.T. + SYTYCD + Take That + Glee? = Hit ), or they just don't like Weinstein. Others may simply have a very rigid idea of what a Broadway show should be, and even those who like this show will agree that it does not fit the mold of a traditional Broadway show. If Jordan does not transfer with the show to Broadway, you may be able to add Fansies to that list. With all the toes that Weinstein has stepped on, it may be destined to come to Broadway with all the critical momentum of a Wildhorn show.

I liked this show. I went to the first preview expecting nothing, and came away with the memory of a series of enjoyable musical theater moments. An enjoyable night at the theater. I've gone to many shows that were considered hits and come away with less. I hope it succeeds.

"As for not being able to credit Paulus with the beauty of the Act II moment, if you don't think she's (in some way) responsible for it, you're wrong..."

Not so sure about that. Didn't someone pose a link to a YouTube video of some Cirque De Soleil type show where the FINDING NEVERLAND "air sculptor" does the exact same thing as was done in FN? It may even be in this thread. That would mean all Paulus did was see that effect in that other show, and say, "I want that".

"Others may simply have a very rigid idea of what a Broadway show should be, and even those who like this show will agree that it does not fit the mold of a traditional Broadway show."

How does FINDING NEVERLAND somehow break the mold of the traditional Broadway show? It seemed like a pretty straight-forward book musical to me.

I hope that FINDING NEVERLAND eventually succeeds as well. But I am one of those who is of the opinion that "complete overhaul" is the only way it will. It was that bad.

Updated On: 9/28/14 at 03:51 PM