Finding Neverland at ART -- Reviews & Thoughts- Page 7

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 9:24pm

^ I'm a little worried about that too. It doesn't seem all that dissimilar to Big Fish and look how that turned out. I enjoy Big Fish and I'll probably enjoy this as well but it doesn't seem like a viable property for a commercial run.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 9:29pm

The word of mouth is better seems better than Big Fish and Rocky, though, no?

[MaddieBB12]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 9:33pm

Thanks dramamama! I look foward to being able to share my thoughts with everyone!

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 10:32pm

"It doesn't seem all that dissimilar to Big Fish and look how that turned out."

Hopefully they'll be wise enough to open up in the spring, and they'll at least have that edge.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 8/6/14 at 11:10pm

Has anyone sat in that orch center row that is marked obstructed? How are those seats? Also how long is a train ride from NYC to Boston?

[Jilani]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 12:53am

[SPOILERS] Just saw this tonight and really enjoyed it. I am a fan of the movie but thought it was incredibly sad and wasn't really sure how the story could work as a musical. I think for the most part, it worked really well. The cast was all very strong, including the four boys. Jeremy Jordan didn't seem too young for the role of Barrie the way he played it, and Laura Michelle Kelley was simply lovely in every way. I didn't think Carolee Carmello was underutilized. I will admit to finding the human playing the dog to be jarring at first, but it grew on me once I realized the blended fantasy/reality tone of the show (exemplified by the dinner party scene, which I thought was really well done). My favorite part of the show was the Peter Pan ballet in the children's bedroom, culminating in the visually stunning and very moving depiction of Sylvia's death that others have already singled out. I'm planning to go again towards the end of the run here in Cambridge to see what gets changed, but this preview struck me as being a very strong start. The three other people I went with (all in our 30's) really enjoyed the show as well, for what it's worth.

To dramamama and anyone else interested in meeting the cast afterwards: people just hung around in the A.R.T. lobby (in the area in front of the ticket booths), loosely forming a sort of receiving line, and the cast all came out quite soon after the show was over and made their way along the line. I got my program signed by most of the cast, including all of the leads and the four boys. Had a particularly nice interaction with Laura Michelle Kelley: during our chat, I told her that my partner and I had gone to London on a trip to Europe specifically to see the original cast of Mary Poppins and loved her in it. She asked where he was (he actually had to run back to work right after the show to finish something up), and then (totally unprompted) took my phone and recorded a video of herself and me, addressing him by name and asking why he had to run off to work before meeting her, and thanking him for coming all the way to London! Made my night. :) My friend who also stayed behind to get autographs is a huge Jeremy Jordan fan, and JJ posed for a picture with her that I took after he signed her program. All in all, I found meeting the cast to be a much more relaxed and personal experience than at your typical Broadway stage door.

[skylight2]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 12:30pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-TV-Exclusive-Believe-Watch-Extended-Show-Footage-from-FINDING-NEVERLAND-at-the-ART-Plus-an-Interview-with-Jeremy-Jordan-Laura-Michelle-Kelly-20140807#.U-OowGOdt30

I am liking the songs. I hope we get a concept album as well.

[joe5]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 12:57pm

Agree skylight , and there are many gems . That's just a small taste .

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:35pm

Wonderful show...some work needed, but doable. If it opened on Broadway tomorrow, I think it'd be a modest hit...if they make the right changes, it can be a lot more.

Pluses: direction, choreography, performances, book, terrific; score better than okay, if not great; entire visual approach, including sets, costumes, lighting. Dinner scene terrific, last 15 minutes of Act 1magical, Entire scene leading to Sylvia's death perfect, with the end of the scene memorable, again magical.

Biggest issues: lyrics are the weak link...they are not all bad, but a good number are just simplistic; loved the book, but thought the ratio of book to songs was a little light; think the pub scene has potential to be great, but it is not yet...needs a catchier tune, the choreography is very clever but the table are a little too high; the romance needs a little more setup...maybe a Twin Soliloquies type of number.

This is an intimate show, and should NOT be put into a barn. The ideal theatre is the Broadhurst, with the Richard Rodgers a second choice, and the Nederlander a third.

On balance, looking for this to become a classic if the right improvements are made...but the are needed for that to happen.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/7/14 at 11:45pm

PS --

-- loved the dog, loved the dancing servants
-- thought Carolee Carmello's role was appropriate in size and that she was fine in it. I have only seen her in this, Mamma Mia, and Pimpernel, so I am not on any bandwagon. Whether she was underutilized or not, she accepted a role whose size was appropriate for the show
-- I did love the second act duet...I still felt some buildup was required

[mikey2573]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 12:56am

Act 2 number called "We're All Made of Stars" (I seem to remember the lyric "You can be what you want to be, Do what you want to do." being sung over and over.)



The 4 Davies boys are setting up a makeshift stage in their backyard. The oldest boy reminds them to not forget what Mr. Barrie has always told them, that "anything is possible, if you believe". The four boys then start singing this song about what they all might choose as their careers when they grow up. The song sounds like a bubble-gum pop song you might hear from a boy's band; think "Radio Disney" or "Kidzbop".

"We're all made of sta
a
a
ars!"

Myself and the person I came to the theater with both do a slow head turn to each other.

The song continues and each boy goes up in the makeshift stage and sings a short verse about what they want to be; one sings about being a doctor, the other about being an explorer, and one about being a writer. Then they start dancing around in their backyard. They do leg kicks and they each do a "Billy Elliot" knee slide across the stage.
Suddenly, 7 or 8 dancers enter. They are lifting their knees, swinging their arms and bopping their heads back and forth like they are in a road show of "Grease". And, they are each dressed to represent a certain "profession"; one appears to be dressed as a doctor, the other looks like a band leader, another is a sailor, and the others I can't recall. First they are a group separate from the boys, then thy all start dancing with the boys, lifting them up and dancing them around the stage.

Myself and the person I am with both look at each other and laugh. Then turn our attention back to the show.

It gets better.
There is a wooden fence going diagonally across the stage. Suddenly the heads of other ensemble members pop up from behind the fence and start bopping back and forth like a musical number from THE MUPPET SHOW.

Had I not already finished my drink, this might have been the point where I did a "spit-take" onto the back of the head of the poor person sitting in front of me. Luckily for him my drink is empty.

As the song winds down, the dancers start to back off behind the makeshift stage, still be-bopping and waving "Goodbye" to the boys as they leave.

My friend and I look at each other with a "What the hell was THAT?" expression.
(BTW, this is not meant to poke fun at the young actors. They did fine. But their material?)
T
That is the best description of just one of the numbers from FINDING NEVERLAND.
What do you think?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 6:34am

Yes, I didn't care for the number, either. But I didn't find it quite as offensive as did you.

[sweeneyguy]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 8:39am

I thought the number was just right for capturing the playful, exuberant, youthful innocence of the boys. It was apparent that the audience got that and responded enthusiastically. For the pompously pedantic who can't comprehend the concept of the inner child, I would suggest something more highbrow. Perhaps the Ring Cycle at The Met.

[newintown]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 9:25am

"I thought the number was just right for capturing the playful, exuberant, youthful innocence of the boys. It was apparent that the audience got that and responded enthusiastically."

Once again, your own opinion is sufficient; you don't need to pretend to speak for the entire audience (what you perceive as everyone's reaction may very well be heavily influenced by what you want to see).

Aligning yourself with what you may perceive as the majority doesn't confer aesthetic rectitude upon you.

[sweeneyguy]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 9:38am

Of course it's my own opinion. Isn't this site about personal opinions? Gosh, I apologize for misreading the enthusiastic response from the audience. I guess we were wrong and the negative opinions here must be definitive.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 12:26pm

I didn't find the number "offensive". I did find it ridiculous and it was anachronistic (is that a word?) as well. Somehow it seemed to be taking the "If you believe..." theme a bit too literally. Was Barrie really thinking about occupations when he told them that? I remember when the dancers came out they were singing "Ba Ba BaBa Baaa" to the melody of the song. It looked very out of place for a show set in the early 1900s.
I tried to do my best to describe the number with as little "opinion" as possible, but I know including mine and my friend's reactions certainly gave a picture of what we were thinking.
There are folks in this thread who are comparing Finding Neverland to Big Fish. I saw Finding Neverland and I saw Big Fish.
Finding Neverland makes Big Fish look like West Side Story.
Finding Neverland makes Big Fish look like Sweeney Todd.
Finding Neverland should aspire to be half as good as Big Fish was (and I thought BF was mediocre at best).
The creators of this show have their work cut out for them. I wish them well as I do not care to see good people fail. But I hope they are not reading the positive reviews on this board and thinking they are home free, because they are not.
They have a LOT of work to do.

[Back Row]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 2:34pm

"I tried to do my best to describe the number with as little "opinion" as possible, but I know including mine and my friend's reactions certainly gave a picture of what we were thinking."

Otherwise known as "opinion". So, you didn't try very hard.

I get it. You didn't like it. Other people did. I'm just another rube from burbs, and I liked it. My opinion has no more value than yours, and vice versa.

"But I hope they are not reading the positive reviews on this board..."

I hope they are not paying any attention to these boards at all. There is no context to anonymous messages in a public forum. Any opinion offered here is good only for discussion, but otherwise pretty worthless. The only reactions they should be listening to are those of the live audience, and of trusted professionals who they know.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/8/14 at 4:22pm

Well, I saw Big Fish from the first row center of the mezz, so my seats were great. I still thought it was mediocre...in the second act, I actually cringed when the next new song started because I thought the score was so bad. Just an opinion like everything else on these boards. Some of the hyperbole is so damn melodramatic, drama-queen ish. 'X makes Y look like the greatest thing in the history of the world.'

I actually thought the kids number would have been better without the heads popping up over the fence, but I still enjoyed it. I think I could have been staged to be a show-stopper by just focusing on the kids, on the other hand

[tmbyru]

Posted: 8/9/14 at 12:24pm

Can anyone tell me how long the show is running? Trying to make after-show dinner reservations.

[Up In One]

Posted: 8/9/14 at 1:13pm

Lat Thursday it clocked in at a very long 2 hours and 45 or 50 minutes. Someone here reported it was trimmed by 15 minutes early this past week so it probably down around 2:30/2:35 now.

Posted: 8/9/14 at 5:35pm

ART website says 2 hours 40 mins

[juice23]

Posted: 8/9/14 at 7:57pm

I saw the matinee this afternoon and really enjoyed it. I had a really ugly cry in act two during the neverland scene.

Great performances... Laura Michelle Kelly is perfection. I took a regular photo with her and then she asked if she could take a selfie with my phone as well and to tag her on Instagram. She's so sweet.

Carolee was also perfect in her role.

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 8/10/14 at 8:21pm

I saw the matinee today, and I was floored. It was a truly beautiful piece of theater, and I'm so happy I made the trip to Cambridge to see it. This is one of the best new musicals I've seen in a while.

For starters, the show is perfectly cast. Jeremy Jordan is a pitch-perfect leading man. He's endearing and really has the chance here to show the full range of his talents. Laura Michelle-Kelly's performance is just as phenomenal. Together they have fantastic chemistry.

The ensemble is doing some excellent work as well. Mia Michaels has given them some great choreography to work with, and their dance numbers are highly enjoyable to watch.

As for Diane Paulus's direction, it's absolutely brilliant. The staging of the reprise for Finding Neverland was so beautiful and so creative; the imagery in that scene made for one of the most gorgeous and heart-wrenching moments I've ever witnessed on stage. As the poster above me mentioned, it most definitely brought about some ugly crying.

The one issue I had with the show was that the moment I just mentioned was so brilliant that it would be nearly impossible to match it. The scene following it that leads into the finale throws the piece off balance in that it doesn't maintain the momentum. In my opinion, the simplest fix for this would be to end with the Finding Neverland reprise. While the finale did a decent job of wrapping up the show, I think the audience would be able to assume the ending or some variation of it for themselves. I'd prefer that it'd end on a note that wasn't grounded in reality. At the very least, the scene leading into the finale could use some trimmimg. I didn't particularly care for the wrapping up of another story line that they incorporated into that moment either.

Besides the ending which I think could be fixed pretty easily, I'd say the show is ready for Broadway. I wholeheartedly believe it deserves to be a hit.

[Up In One]

Posted: 8/10/14 at 10:58pm

^ Agree the show should end with the Cirque rip off special effect way too much explaining death happens after it - we've just witnessed a special effect that could mean many things to many people and beautifully illustrates the imagination Barrie has been encouraging all night. The show, which spends most of the night in fluffy musical land gets way too heavy at the end. Eliminate the emphasis on the theatre troupe and the reduculous Mrs Barrie furniture moving ballet as well as that ending and they may be on to something.

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 8/10/14 at 11:21pm

I'd actually never seen that effect before on stage, which is why it impressed me so much. It's disappointing to hear that it's not original. I completely agree with your reasoning for why it'd be a better ending.

I don't completely agree with you about the end being too heavy in comparison to the rest of the show. Sure, it isn't as light as the rest, but I think having "Stronger" close the first act set the plot up to go on to explore darker themes. A number about Barrie's inner demons was the perfect transition into the other characters' conflict.

A lot of emphasis could certainly be cut from the theatre troupe without losing much. They aren't terribly likable until the second act anyhow. However, I would keep the "furniture moving ballet." I think it reveals a lot about her character and highlights just how vastly different her personality is from Barrie's.