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.
Final Broadway performance August 21.
For a show about releasing the imagination, the musical is surprisingly conventional -- a down-the-middle family entertainment with excellent actors...as well as sturdy storytelling that recreates the movie with dogged fidelity...the production has a low-wattage wow factor that...mostly misses the chance to transform the fantasies in Barrie's mind with 21st century magic...Morrison -- a major Broadway talent before the world knew him as Mr. Schue from 'Glee' -- has a beard and a three-piece suit and an endearing playfulness as yet-another sensitive father figure...Grammer gets all the best lines and delightfully makes the most of them...Designer Scott Pask's fantasy scenes -- except for a beautiful sparkly death scene for a beloved parent -- have an intentional homemade quality, while Mia Michaels' peculiar choreography traps high society in grotesque jerky cavorting. Brit pop composers Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy offer serviceable songs with elementary structures and rhymes we can sing before we hear them.
The end result is both rousing and erratic, with bits of thrilling stage magic that are signature Diane Paulus...and dialogue that sometimes feels as if it's been focus group-sanitized to within an inch of its life...Morrison has a consistent Scottish brogue and a melancholy demeanor in a performance that's very likable...The quartet of boys playing the Llewelyn Davies children are exceptional...The melodies are pop-song good, if not likely to linger long with you...the first act closer 'Stronger,' which soars to a finish indeed so strong it left me trembling. One of the areas in which 'Finding Neverland' succeeds is in its balance between technical and non-technical wizardry. Paulus knows when to use her bag of tricks...and when to let our imaginations do the work...'Finding Neverland' is best in its scenes with surrogate father Barrie and the four boys...Alongside Morrison, I think they're the ones who deserve a lot of the credit for getting 'Finding Neverland' to fly.
2015 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2016 | US Tour |
First US National Tour US Tour |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Leading Actor in a Musical | Matthew Morrison |
2015 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Lighting Design | Kenneth Posner |
2015 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Orchestrations | Simon Hale |
2015 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Scenic Design | Scott Pask |
2015 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Score | Gary Barlow |
2015 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Jonathan Deans |
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Musical | Matthew Morrison |
2015 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Carolee Carmello |
2015 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Kelsey Grammer |
2015 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Matthew Morrison |
2015 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical | Finding Neverland |
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