| re: Finding Neverland Twice This Weekend -- Possible Spoilers | |
| Posted by: | perfectlyfrank 03:09 pm EDT 08/04/14 |
| In reply to: | Finding Neverland Twice This Weekend -- Possible Spoilers - lowwriter 06:19 pm EDT 08/03/14 |
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| I had a slightly different take on the show. I do believe it will be a big hit. The audiences were quite enthusiastic and yes, the show seems to "work". There are some good numbers (although none made me forget the songs from PETER PAN) and I thought the actors were well cast. I did not think Jeremy Jordan was appropriately aged with the beard and a bit more weight on him. Laura Michelle Kelly was lovely. Carolee is always good. The production values were incredible. The scene you mention with Sylvia was absolutely magical, as was the Act I closer. Diane Paulus is again doing some fine work here. Mia Michaels' choreography is hit and miss. Some moments were quite enjoyable and others seemed to distract from the storytelling (and the "flying" needs much more focus and "magic".) HOWEVER, never once did I connect emotionally with this show. The film was far more emotional. Partly this is because I feel the musical's tone tends to dwell much more in the comedic moments so when we get to the more emotional point of the story, it feels tacked on. I strongly missed the connection between Peter and James that centered the movie. For one, I thought the children were all lacking anything special. I also think the musical desperately needs an early scene with James and Peter, who really needs to be a bit more solemn. Never once did I feel any of these kids were having problems dealing with the death of their father. The duet at the end between James and Peter ("When Your Feet Don't Touch the Ground") was wonderful and what I was missing from these two throughout the show. It was a bit too late at this point so I hope they better set up this relationship. I also felt the show didn't make the connection between what was going on in James real life with his creation of Peter Pan as well as the film did. For instance, when we see the connection between McGrath's character and Captain Hook it's fun and "Stronger"is definitely a showstopper but then the focus goes back to the "Hook" in James (a reasonable viewpoint) yet I wished that connection came more fluidly out of the scenes with Syliva and her "date" and his conversation with du Marier rather than a lively but distracting circus number. Simply cutting the circus number and making the connection between the scene and "Stronger" would not only shave off time (the show is far too long right now) but make more dramatic sense. I am scheduled to see the show later in the run and will be excited to see what changes are made from now until then. As it is, the show is shaping up nicely. It didn't work for me emotionally because the book too often gave us comic scenes with James' wife and the theatre company rather than focus on the emotional core between James and Peter. (I also felt they pushed a romantic relationship between James and Sylvia a bit too hard since in truth their relationship was never confirmed to be romantic and moreso that the strongest relationship should more properly be between James and Peter, as in the film. When accusations are hurled at the inappropriateness of the relationship between James and the boys, it was rather confusing because rarely do we ever see James alone with the boys throughout the show. Had the accusations been about him and Sylvia, there might have been more of a case since that relationship is firmly built in the current production. So, my hope is that along with the usual tightening of the show, the creators bring the tone back to James and the family and especially to his relationship with Peter so that by the time we get to the later scenes, they have more emotional resonance. (I would also love to see the child actors to have a bit more depth to them, especially Peter.) What I missed most in this FINDING NEVERLAND was the screen Peter, Freddie Highmore's heartbreaking performance and what I feel is most needed here is that relationship that Highmore forged with Johnny Depp that became the film's emotional core. | |
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