Harvey Weinstein Responds to FINDING NEVERLAND's Boston Reviews

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Harvey Weinstein and director Diane Paulus recently announced that Finding Neverland will open on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 8, 2015. This announcement comes on the heels of Finding Neverland's sold-out, world-premiere engagement at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University. Finding Neverland will begin preview performances on Broadway in March, 2015. Casting will be announced shortly.

In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Weinstein opens up about about the Boston reviews. He told THR: "They had some nice things to say and some constructive criticisms. But Brantley [dismissively] comparing the show to Matilda and to Wicked and saying it was that kind of a show? Please, let it be that! Let it be a tenth of that and we'll be thrilled! And every review in Boston - the Globe, the radio stations, the other newspapers, everything - was a rave. What I didn't like was Riedel writing kind of an idea of a review based on him not being there. The other guys were there. So I said to him, "Mike, if you're not gonna come then you can't write that stuff! You can't write hearsay and do that kind of bitchy thing that you do where you just make up what the last person told you in a hallway."

He continues: "Finding Neverland was the biggest hit in the 34-year history of A.R.T. [American Repertory Theatre]. It was sold out every night. It was unbelievable. I think the show's beyond criticism at this point. The word-of-mouth out of Boston is incredible. People have Twittered all over the country. The social media that we've seen is amazing. We're doing a special cast album that's songs from the show but with Jessie J. And there's gonna be huge stars on the Universal Music Group concept album."

Click here to read the full interview.

Based on the Miramax motion picture by David Magee and the play The Man Who Was Peter Pan byAllan Knee,Finding Neverland follows the relationship between playwright J. M. Barrie and the familythat inspired Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up - one of the most beloved stories of all time.

Directed by Tony Award®-winner Diane Paulus (Pippin) with book by Olivier Award®-nominee JamesGraham, music and lyrics by U.K. pop sensation Gary Barlow (Take That) and Grammy Award®-winnerEliot Kennedy, choreography by Emmy Award®-winner Mia Michaels (So You Think You Can Dance),this new musical explores the power of imagination to open up new worlds, and the pressures put uponthose worlds by the inevitability of growing up.

The production boasts scenic design by Tony Award®-winnerScott Pask (Pippin, Book of Mormon),lighting design by Phillip S. Rosenberg (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder), costume design bySuttirat Larlarb (Of Mice and Men), and sound design by Tony Award®-nominee Jonathan Deans(Pippin, La Cage aux Folles).