Roger Bart Backs Out of FINDING NEVERLAND, Michael McGrath Takes His Place

The cast for the upcoming Broadway musical, Finding Neverland, has begun rehearsals; but, according to Deadline, Tony-winner Roger Bart has backed out of the production. He was set to play Charles Frohman, an American theatre producer from the turn of the century nineteenth century.

Bart will be replaced by Michael McGrath, a Tony-winner for Nice Work If You Can Get it, and a nominee for his performance in Spamalot (2004). He has also starred in Born Yesterday (2011), Memphis (2009), Is He Dead? (2007), and many more.

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The world premiere of the musical, with music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Elliot Kennedy, book by James Graham, directed by Diane Pauluswith choreography by Mia Michaels, will be presented at A.R.T. by special arrangement with Harvey Weinstein. The production of the new musical will begin previews on Wednesday, July 23 and run through Sunday, September 28. If all goes well, the musical is slated to hit Broadway Spring 2015.

In FINDING NEVERLAND, when a playwright meets a widow and her four boys in Kensington Gardens, he embarks on a friendship that inspires one of the most beloved stories of all time. Based on the Miramax film written by David Magee, Finding Neverland follows the real-life relationship between the Llewelyn Davies family and James Matthew Barrie as he writes the revolutionary 1904 play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. Staged by A.R.T. Artistic DirectorDiane Paulus and with music by U.K. pop sensation Gary Barlow (Take That), this new musical explores the power of imagination to open up new worlds, and the pressures put upon those worlds by the prospect of growing up.

The cast will be led by Jeremy Jordan as J.M. Barrie and Laura Michelle Kelly as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies; with Carolee Carmello as Madame du Maurier, Jeanna de Waal as Mary Barrie, Aidan Gemmeas Peter, Alex Dreier as Michael, Sawyer Nunes as George, and Hayden Signoretti as Jack. Members of the ensemble are Courtney Balan, Dana Costello, Rory Donovan, Gaelen Gilliland, Thayne Jasperson, Josh Lamon, Cara Massey, Melanie Moore, Mary Page Nance, Stuart Neal, Emma Pfaeffle, Jonathan Ritter, Tyley Ross, Julius Rubio,JC Schuster, Paul Slade Smith, and Ron Todorowski.

The creative team also includes scenic designer Scott Pask, costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb, lighting designer Philip Rosenberg, sounddesigner Jonathan Deans, projection designer Gilles Papain, fan designer Daniel Wurtzel, music supervisor David Chase, music director Mary-Mitchell Campbell, and orchestration by Simon Hale.