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.
Finding Neverland flies. Occasionally it even soars. The miracle is that the darned thing not only got off the ground, but that this musical prequel to the Peter Pan story arrives on Broadway much improved after a storied, bumpy tour of the hinterlands, with its intermittent charms intact, many of its missteps gone or at least minimized...the script, by James Graham, has been sharpened so as not to treat the audience too much like idiots...Perhaps Weinstein and Paulus were correct in replacing Jordan with the better-known Morrison, who has the look and voice of a Broadway star but is something of a stiff. The role wants a mood transplant, a child-like quality to which Jordan was more suited. Grammer, on the other hand, is an indisputable improvement...As Hook, he's just a ton of fun...sashaying around the stage, brandishing his hook and bullying J.M...As to the score by pop writers Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, well it doesn't offend, but I was still impervious to its desperate attempts to win me over...Finding Neverland is still too treacly...and the tear-wringing ending just goes on forever...But there's an audience for this show, which is visually cunning and something of a warm bath without being too insulting.
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.
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 |
Videos