"Finding Neverland" and The Lost Boys Find A Home On Broadway - Audience Response Trumps The Critics

I am writing this review of "Finding Neverland" on the day in which this musical failed to received a single Tony Award nomination.  I fear that many of the critics and Tony voters were not able to calibrate their sextants and find the "second star to the right - and straight on 'til morning."  I think they missed seeing the show that I have fallen in love with, and I am unashamed in writing in praise of this remarkable musical.

Before you read much further, you may wish to consult my review of the A.R.T. production of "Finding Neverland" that played to record-breaking audiences last summer in Cambridge.  There have been significant changes since the show has moved to Broadway, but many of my comments and observations about the show remain germane.

Blog Review of the Cambridge Production of "Finding Neverland"

I will assume that you have now read my review of the earlier iteration of the play.  Allow me summarize the most significant changes as the show moved from Cambridge to NYC:

• There are dramtict cast changes.  Matthew Morrison replaces Jeremy Jordan as J.M. Barrie, Kelsey Grammar replaces Michael McGrath as Producer Charles Frohman/Captain Hook.  Porthos is now an actual canine, rather than a human actor.  Teal Wicks now plays Mary Barrie.
• The opening number and the closing number have been changed - for the better.
• A quirky scene early in Act I that showed Mary Barrie's OCD tendencies has been cut.
• New songs have been written for the four Llewelyn Davies boys, further highlighting their talents.

How do I feel about the changes?  For the most part I agree with them, for they make for a cleaner and tighter story.  Matthew Morrison is a perfectly fine J.M. Barrie, but that role will always belong - in my mind and in my heart - to the incomparable Jeremy Jordan who brought a warmth and vulnerability to the role that is not always in evidence in Mr. Morrison's interpretation of the role. Who can argue with casting Kelsey Grammer, who seems to being having a wonderful time as Captain Hook.

Laura Michele Kelly and Carolee Carmello continue to be luminous in their mother and daughter roles of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and Mrs. Du Maurier.

The four Llewelyn Davies boys came intact as a package from the Cambridge production, with the addition of a few actors to spell them for the eight-show-a-week endurance test that is a Broadway schedule.  The new faces are Jackson Demott Hill, Noah Hinsdale and Christopher Paul Richard. These newcomers to the cast have been added to the pioneering quartet of Alex Drier, Aidan Gemme, Sawyer Nunes and Hayden Signoretti.  These young actors do not seem at all intimidated to have made the leap to the big stage of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, and they work the crowd at the Stage Door with the confidence of Broadway veterans.  Selfies, screaming girls and autographs abound.

Cast of "Finding Neverland"
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

I have a good friend who is a Tony Award winning producer as well as a director, writer and actor. After seeing "Finding Neverland," my friend wrote me and said: "Diane Paulus is a genius!"  I would agree enthusiastically with his assessment.  In the case of this musical, she has assembled disparate elements - including composers and a choreographer new to Broadway - and from those parts has fashioned a cohesive narrative of a classical story that still has the power to move all except those whose hearts have been hardened.  This show moves me each time I see it.  My own reaction to the musical and my observation of the enthusiastic response from each audience I have been part of  leads me to the conclusion that this is a show that is "critic proof."  I believe it will run for a long while on Broadway and touch the hearts of those who live in NYC and who travel there to be enchanted.

Clap if you also believe - in the power of story and fairy tales well told!  And click on the link below to book your ticket to Neverland!

A Harvard professor has weighed in on the power of this musical to tell a vibrant story that is part myth and part dramatized biography.  Her Op-Ed piece for Variety is linked below.

Variety Op-Ed Piece about "Finding Neverland" by Harvard Professor

Enjoy!

Al

Finding Neverland Website

Wheelock Family Theatre Closes Its Season With "Shrek The Musical" - A Total Delight For All Ages

There is another Green Monster lurking in the Fenway neighborhood these days.  It is not the one in Left Field at Fenway Park off of which baseballs bounce.  It is the ogre Shrek off of whom emanate monstrous and swampish miasmas and B.O.  Yet, in his own way, he is charming as the star of "Shrek The Musical," currently on stage at the Wheelock Family Theatre.  This production is a total delight for audience members of all ages.  Children will delight in the mash-up of many familiar fairy tale characters who have been evicted by Lord Farquaad and forced to relocated to the swamp where Shrek hangs out in isolation.  He is not pleased to have his privacy invaded, and as a consequence, entertaining shenanigans ensue.  Adults will enjoy the same tale, but will also note the many references to the world of Disney that are poked at and satirized by the writing of the brilliant David Lindsay-Abaire.

Shelley Bolman magnificently helms this production as Director, herding a large menagerie of actors playing roles that we are all familiar with - Donkey, Pinocchio, Fairy Godmother, Captain Hook, Wicked Witch, 3 Little Pigs, Goldilocks' 3 Bears, 3 Blind Mice, Ugly Duckling et al.  The large ensemble move fluidly on the Wheelock stage using Mr. Bolman's blocking and the nimble choreography of Patricia Manalo Bochnak.  The production comes to life, as well, due to the artistry of Musical Director Matthew Stern, Set Designer Matthew T. Lazure, Lighting Designer Scott Bolman, Sound Designer Roger J. Moore and Costume Designer Charles G. Baldwin.  I must note that the spectacular costumes by Mr. Baldwin have a real sense of authenticity to them.  In a previous lifetime, Mr. Baldwin worked for Dreamworks on the original Shrek film.

In addition to offering up a menu of Disney parodies, this show addresses important themes of what it means to find a place in the world when you are somewhat different from those around you.  Issues of acceptance and self-acceptance run throughout the tale, poignantly asking the question: "What is real beauty, and who gets to define it?"

Standing out among the strong ensemble cast of adults and children are the following:

• Christopher Chew is the wonderfully frightful ogre Shrek.  He simultaneously scares and charms as he seeks to evict the characters trespassing in his swamp, and tries awkwardly to navigate a romance with Princess Fiona.  His singing is strong, especially when he is paired with his nuisance traveling companion Donkey and when singing with Fiona.

 Shrek and Fiona during the final number of Shrek the Musical with Christopher Chew and Shonna Cirone.
Photo by Kippy Goldfarb

• As Fiona, Shonna Cirone is luminous, projecting an inner beauty that allows Shrek and the audience to see beyond her coarse ogre features to the winsome human being who dwells beneath the surface.  Her trio, "I Know It's Today"with Young Fiona (Audree Hedequist) and Teen Fiona (Erin McMillen)  is a highlight of the show.
• Maurice Emmanuel Parent has some tough shoes to fill as Donkey, for in the film version, Eddie Murphy created an iconic and indelible character.  Mr. Parent manages to put his own stamp upon this key role, with his acting, movement and singing and stage presence.  His song, "Don't Let Me Go" is another highlight.
• Mark Linehan almost steals the show as the diminutive and dictatorial Lord Farquaad (a parody, I am told, of Disney's Michael Eisner!)  He is forced to play the role on his knees,and his agility from that posture is a wonder.  He provides many of the best moments of comic relief.
• Cheeyang Ng is a very believable Pinocchio, whose nose expands and retracts in response to the level of veracity contained in his statements.
• Brittany Rolfs provides the voice for the fire-breathing dragon - a beautiful design  of a huge puppet that fills much of the stage.  She also doubles as Fairy Godmother and Bishop, and is strong in all three roles.

This FABULOUS Dragon was designed and built by the artist Marge Lusignan; a magician in the studio and WFT is so grateful indeed to have her working on this and so many other projects. But this... this Dragon is just DA BOMB! Marge, you rock! — with Lexi Ryan,Gracie Brakeman, Jeffrey Sewell, Jessica Ayer andHannah McLaughlin.

Other cast members include:Amy Barker, Stephen Markarian, Matthew Kossack, Carla Martiez, Jillian Couillard, Andy Garcia, Brad Foster Reinking, Alexander Eisenberg,
Zachary Eisenberg, Gamalia Pharms, Annie Kerins, Jane ELizabeth Bernhard, Aaron Michael Ray and Sammy Haines.

Fairy Tale Creature Ensemble: Jessica Ayer, Grace Brakema, Millie Chew, Hannah McLaughlin, Julia Paolino, Lily Ramras, rew Ridell, Joanna Rosen, Lexi Ryan and Jeffrey Sewell.

Do not make the monstrous mistake of missing this show, which will run through May 24.  Click on the link below to secure your tickets.  Act fast before the box office is "swamped"!

Enjoy!

Al

http://www.wheelockfamilytheatre.org/current-season.aspx