Finding Neverland

Finding Neverland

Lunt-Fontaine Theatre

October 31, 2015

Photo courtesy of Finding Neverland

I remember being inspired by the movie Finding Neverland starring Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, and Freddie Highmore, who lit up the screen and captured the hearts of audiences everywhere.  When I saw the posters and advertisements for the musical version opening on Broadway last season, I knew that it had the potential for greatness, even though I could not remember the details of the story line.  The Broadway production is energetic, bright, and heartwarming.  It is not the story of Peter Pan, but the personal challenges of the writer J. M. Barrie and how and why he came to write his timeless tale of the boy who would never grow up.  Director Diana Paulus magically unravels the journey into the imagination of J. M. Barrie, and creates a production that heals the lost child within all of us.

Photo courtesy of Finding Neverland

The entire cast, led by Matthew Morrison and four amazing young actors, is bold, skillful, and exuberantly united.  Laura Michele Kelly is touching and tender as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies.  Carolee Carmello transforms in the character of Mrs. DuMaurier under the strain of heartbreaking grief and loss.  The understudy (yes, I saw the Saturday matinee) for Captain Hook, Paul Slade (in for Terrance Mann), gave depth to the role and convinced me to “live by the hook.”

Photo courtesy of Finding Neverland

The staging and choreography by Mia Michaels is what makes the show spectacular.  From the opening number and throughout the show, she surprises and amazes with high energy moves, unexpected patterns, and character driven gestures that move the story forward.  Her use of lifts to make characters fly affirms my belief that, in an era of high-tech theatrics, it is the simplest concepts that are always most effective.

Scenic design, by Scott Pask, is realistic, colorful, imaginative, and bright.  Lighting, by Kenneth Posner, beautifully enhances the mood, time period, and transitions.  The highlight in the score, by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, is the song “When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground.”  I am still singing it.

Photo courtesy of Finding Neverland

This show focuses on the healing power of the creative mind and the value of the imagination.  “A man who does not want to fight (for what he believes), deserves what he gets,” shouts Captain Hook at the end of Act I.  If your playfulness of youth needs to be ignited, see the show and set your heart on fire.

Domenick Danza