Finding Neverland at ART -- Reviews & Thoughts- Page 8

[Back Row]

Posted: 8/10/14 at 11:44pm

The effect was designed by Daniel Wurtzel, and he has designed similar effects for a number of high profile clients, including the Sochi Winter Olympics and Cirque du Solei. He is given full credit as "air sculptor" in the Finding Neverland program. To my knowledge, he has no past projects that are quite like the effect he designed for Finding Neverland, so, like any other original work of art, it was indeed unique for this show. To characterize it a rip off shows a clear ignorance of his work.

[rcwr]

Posted: 8/10/14 at 11:44pm

Just another opinion about the ending: I've seen the show three times so far, and I like the ending. I like that the show doesn't end with the Finding Neverland reprise but rather with the how-do-we-go-on emotions and logistics. The coming back down to earth; the moment of Barrie making it explicit to the kids that he's sticking around. I didn't find that this ending diluted the stunning scene that came before it; in fact, it made everything feel stronger to me.

[Up In One]

Posted: 8/10/14 at 11:48pm

That effect opens and closes the most current Cirque show touring the US.

Because of things like that ballet, which through its short hand short changes the wife's character, and the kids numbers and the theatre troupes numbers I came away with a show that was trying too hard to be liked and wanting to be more family fare. So when we got to the carousel and pirate and stronger number it felt as if the show took a hard turn it didn't deserve. Then the second act started up in the same vein. I would have appreciated a deeper more complicated route. When it was lite is was very very lite and when it was dark it wasn't consistent.

It all comes back to who the audience is it's aiming at.

It all felt like safe family fare to me with the exception of the adultery and suggestion of pedophelia in the book. I expected something more complex to be inspired from the film.

And to just have the orchestrations and choreography be anachronistic made no sense. Spring Awakening did the anachronistic thing much better.

But the over all effect of the film is in tact and for those who never saw the film it's still a powerful emotional sentiment.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/10/14 at 11:53pm

What's the effect? I don't mind spoilers. Why is everyone being so vague? Can someone PM me?

[rcwr]

Posted: 8/10/14 at 11:54pm

This is one of the best shows I've ever seen. I admit can hear the pop sensibility behind the music when I think about it, but that's okay; it doesn't undermine the musical theater feeling. I love the songs, and the singing is OFF THE CHARTS.

The talent level here is stunning. I loved all the choreography, including the bits that have been called Blues Clues-y. The show is dealing with many contradictory and swirling categories -- childhood vs adulthood, grief vs innocence, etc. There are deep and uncomfortable questions going on: why is childhood framed as the time of joy and innocence when all the examples show that children experience pain too? This isn't problematic at all -- it's complex, like real life. The blend of choreographic styles (and types of music) matches this blend of philosophical concepts that jostle against each other. It's deep. It's not simple.

This show is phenomenal. The aesthetics, the music, the talent level. STUNNING.

[Up In One]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 12:03am

Spoilers

Check first few seconds of video in the link below. The fans pop out of the floor to create a cylinder of air in which a cloth is caught .

I have no issue with using things from other forms of entertainment. It's all about how they are used. So rip off is the wrong term, copied or repurposed might be a better term.

For someone who has not seen the film or the Cirque show this production holds magic. For someone who has the bloom is off the rose


Amaluna

Updated On: 8/11/14 at 12:03 AM

[Back Row]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 12:09am

Look up Daniel Wurtzel's work on the Internet. Then, think "fairy dust". The guy has been designing effects like this for years. You won't find any two of his designs that are quite the same. That's why I think it is offensive to call his work a rip off. The Cirque du Soleil design was his work, and from what video I've seen of it, it too, is unique, although it was by no means the first time he had designed such an effect. The Finding Neverland effect used some materials that, to my knowledge, he had not used before. It was a stand alone work of art.

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 12:18am

Thanks for sharing that video. I see where you're coming from. Regardless of the trick's complete originality, it was still a stunning and incredibly effective piece of staging.

Now with more information on the trick itself, I think I'd agree with Back Row. It is absolutely a work of art. The cylinder of air was merely the canvas. It took on a new meaning with the addition of different materials and with a different lighting design and of course, a different context. Updated On: 8/11/14 at 12:18 AM

[sweeneyguy]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 9:24am

The anachronism subject is an interesting one. I think that it's commonplace in both musical theatre and opera. Think Verdi's and Elton John's AIDA. I don't really think that there is anything offered in either that is authentically ancient Egyptian. There are endless other examples where the music and dance styles don't even come close to evoking the setting. I have my doubts that the music and dance styles of Edwardian England would work in FINDING NEVERLAND.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 10:32am

We saw this Saturday night and really enjoyed it. The only problems I had were the opening number and the dinner scene. I think the choreography was too much in both numbers and the opening set the wrong tone. The scenes in the Barrie home were ruined by the "leaping help", imo. It added nothing.

The rest of the choreography was great, and the dancers, especially Melanie in the final bedroom scene, were wonderful.

The cast was also great. I had doubts about Jordan in this role, and hadn't been overly impressed before, but he is terrific here. He works his a** off, but never shows it, from his gangplank scene to his tender scenes with Peter. Kelly is lovely and sings like a dream in her role. I don't know why there's griping about Carmello, she is very good and, though supporting, has a very good role.

I thought the numbers ranged from just okay to very good. It's a lovely score, but some numbers just seem out of place somehow....the orchestra was great.

Overall, a very good show...and we all left a little teary.

[RW3]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 1:16pm

WGBH Finding Neverland piece
WGBH

[JaglinSays]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 1:34pm

Wow, those clips look pretty bad.

[newintown]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 3:36pm

Those bits of B-roll give a much more specific idea of the show than any other comments posted here, I think.

[rcwr]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 3:48pm

Those bits of B-roll give a much more specific idea of the show than any other comments posted here, I think.

Don't trust those clips too much. The clips are accurate, but they're out of context and they suffer from it. I've seen the show three times and will be going again -- I find the show STUNNING -- and I'm pretty sure that if I'd seen those clips before I saw the show, I would have thought they looked shallow and boring. The show is anything but that. It's about conversations between childhood and adulthood, between reality and fantasy, between pain and joy, and between conflicting defintions of all of those things. It's deep.

[newintown]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 3:59pm

I wouldn't say those clips make the show look "shallow and boring;" I'm not quite sure yet what adjectives I would use, but not those.

[rcwr]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 4:01pm

That's totally fair. I'm sure I found the right words either. I just know that the big, wonderful things that I find this show to be full of don't show up at all (to me) in the clips.

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 4:13pm

To the person who asked about the train: Train ride from NYC to Boston South Station is about 4 hours. The Red Line T has a stop at South Station and you can take it to Harvard Square Station. The theater is near that stop.

[john45cc]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 5:18pm

Saw it again on Saturday. Interestingly many of the scenes shown on the TV clips have already been cut or changed. The opening has also been changed. Apart from "Moving Furniture", which I would have liked to see dropped, I thought it was fine as it was - but then I liked the version of "Love Never Dies" before it was tinkered with as well. Still, it remains a great show which deserves both a Broadway and a West-End run.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 6:15pm

Does it still have the dancing bumble-bees in BELIEVE and the dancing doctor, band leader and sailor in WE'RE ALL MADE OF STARS? Because those segments (some of which you see in the clips) were embarrassingly bad.

[john45cc]

Posted: 8/11/14 at 6:31pm

The dancing bumble-bees are gone and replaced by some strolling ladies and gents in period dress. The dancing doctor et al are still there. I agree they too should probably go - I'm sure Peter (Aidan) would agree. It can't be much fun to be hoisted into the air by the bum.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 11:27am

So, this opens tonight. I will be interested to see what the reviews are like. I hope they've made a lot of changes since I saw it last week, because what I saw was, for the most part, cringe-worthy.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 12:33pm

Yes, you've made that quite clear.

[RW3]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 3:07pm

It's Official!!!!
The A.R.T. ?@americanrep · 1m
It's official: Finding Neverland will open on Broadway this spring!

[Sauja]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 3:17pm

I'm surprised they announced the day before reviews, but that's awesome. I'm looking forward to see it.

Looks like the Winter Garden rumors are wrong though as it's a Nederlander theater it's going into. That would mean it could either have the Atkinson after Love Letters, the Marquis after The Illusionists, or (dare I say) the Rodger after If/Then. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/finding-neverland-to-come-to-broadway-in-march/

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 8/13/14 at 3:20pm

Yup, it's either the Atkinson or the Marquis.