Not nearly as bad as some of its Broadway reviews suggest, the mildly pleasant Finding Neverland filled the hearts of both children and adults at Milwaukee’s Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Although the main characters/actors lack subtlety and nuance, both in reciting their lines and chirping through the uplifting lyrics, the show itself is an excellent touring vehicle. Credit for this goes to a truly magical director, Diane Paulus, and a talented team of creators.
The story focuses on the life of J. M. Barrie – the man who created “Peter Pan” – and how his unlikely friendship with a widow and her four boisterous boys allows Barrie to unleash his inner child. That wondrous child, named for one of the four boys, becomes the core of this classic story.
The troubled musical opened in London in 2012. It was revamped by the American Repertory Theater in 2014, before reaching Broadway a year later. It had a respectable 17-month run at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theater before going on tour. The Broadway production benefitted from the well-known Matthew Morrison (TV’s “Glee”) as JM Barrie and Kelsey Grammar (TV’s “Cheers,” etc. At the tour’s outset, Barrie (now played by Kenosha, Wisconsin-born Will Ray) is experiencing writer’s block, as a grouchy producer (John Davidson) breathes down his neck. To escape the pressure, Barrie wanders into a London park, where he first meets the boys who will become so dear to him as the play proceeds. Three of the boys join him in his efforts to chase pirates and cowboys who shoot Indians (although that politically incorrect fact is never flatly stated). The fourth boy, Peter, sits alone nearby. He is obviously troubled, but by what? Soon, their beautiful mother (Lael Van Keuren) catches up to them and apologizes for their behavior. Incredibly, she is very aware of Barrie’s stature as a contemporary playwright (though she admits to watching his shows from the cheap seats). The childless Barrie is entranced by the whole package – gorgeous widow and sturdy, playful boys. Noting Peter’s reticence at joining them in play, Sylvia (the mother) explains that her husband’s relatively recent death has taken its toll on her and all the boys. Still, rather than take charity from her worried, wealthy mother (Karen Murphey), she chooses to eke out a living with her boys and the husband she so clearly misses. It’s obvious over the musical’s two hours and 30 minutes that Barrie manages to put some sunlight in their lives. However, the stuffiness of Edwardian England will have none of this friendship between Barrie, a married man, and a widow. Obstacles appear at every turn, until the sickly mother – perhaps a victim of tuberculosis – is wafted heavenward. It’s a pure, heavenly moment of theatricality in a musical that needs the talents of a projection designer (Jon Driscoll), illusionist (Paul Kieve) and air sculptor (Daniel Wurtzel). And one of the musical’s best moments comes in the Act I finale, in which Barrie’s imagination is completely unleashed and a pirate ship and crew appear on the stage during a raging storm, with billowing sails and pirates dangling from the rigging. While neither the dialogue nor songs are worth remembering, playgoers will never forget the “vortex” of pixie dust that sweeps Sylvia to heaven and comes into play elsewhere in the production. Shades of the Peter Pan to come are hard to miss, from the words “tick-tock” to a glowing Tinker Bell that opens the show and appears later as a glint on the wall made from a shiny, dinner table knife. The dialogue is also peppered by references to some of the ideas that will be fleshed out later in the script of “Peter Pan.”
Although the supporting characters never rise above stereotypes, the four young boys are wisely given more opportunity to show their stuff in Act II. They are given a chance to write a play script and act it out for the delighted Barrie and Sylvia. Everything that involves the boys causes the audience to perk up, including scenes with a real dog. The overall upbeat mood of the piece is a bit overblown given the fact that the boys lose both their parents during the show, and Barrie is rid of his fed-up wife. There is a lot of carping from the actors and producer, too, about the revelatory journey that Barrie write for them. The rest, as they say, is history.
