FINDING NEVERLAND is season’s best at Fox
– By Cate Marquis –
“Finding Neverland” tells the story of how playwright J.M. Barrie came up with the idea for one of theater’s most enduring and magical plays, “Peter Pan.” Those who saw the less-than-magical movie of the same name will be very pleasantly surprised to find the musical is instead a delightful, fun-filled romp, although it has its pathos side as well. The Broadway touring production opened at the Fox Theater on Dec. 6 and runs through Dec. 18.
Inspired by the real events around the creation of “Peter Pan,” Kevin Kern plays energetic Scottish playwright J. M. Barrie who has already built a successful career on productions for adult audiences but who is struggling with his next production. Strolling through a London park on a warm day, he is approached – or better yet bowled over – by four lively boys playing pirate. He strikes up an immediate friendship with them, and their widowed mother Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Christine Dwyer).
Rather than scolding the boys for their bold behavior, she encourages their imaginative play and boisterous spirit, while apologizing to Barrie if they bothered him. Barrie is completely charmed by both the brothers and their indulgent, fun-loving mother. While brothers George, Michael and Jack are still fully immersed in the world of childhood, Peter is trying his best to be grown-up and face the sad realities of life – like the recent death of their father. It is Peter who touches Barrie’s heart most of all. Playing with the boys, Barrie revisits his own childhood and comes up with a new idea for a play, one for both adults and children, about a boy who never wants to grow up.
There is a kind of Gilbert and Sullivan flair to this entertaining production, set in the earliest years of the 20th century. “Finding Neverland” is filled with humor, dancing, singing and the imagination of childhood, although like the movie that inspired this Broadway production it has a tragic side as well. The other plot line for the musical is the developing play itself, with Barrie’s producer and the staid actors, who are used to Barrie’s usual grown-up works and resist the idea of such a fantastical play, which provides another avenue for humor.
All the cast is very good. The boys are played a rotating cast but on opening night Peter was played by Ben Krieger, with Finn Faulconer as George, Mitchell Wray as Jack, and Jordan Cole as Michael. The boys compete and tussle like real boys might, which is one of the play’s charms. Another charm is their dog Porthos, played by a real English sheepdog named Sammy.
The play actually opens with Barrie’s creations Peter Pan (Dee Tomasetta) and other characters before rolling back to tell about their creation. While Barrie is the center of the story, the children are given bigger roles than one usually sees, which gives the young actors a chance to really show what they can do.
When the boys intrude in the staid world of adults, they tend to bring a little chaos with them – much to the delight of both Barrie and their mother Sylvia. Meanwhile, Barrie’s wife Mary (Crystal Kellogg), an actress turned social climber, is not amused when the boys turn a formal dinner into a chance for fantasy play (along with Barrie himself), in an entertaining song and dance number. Sylvia’s stern, aristocratic mother Mrs. DuMaurier (Joanna Glushak) and the Barrie’s guest Lord Cannan (played with an aristocratic buffoon flair by Noah Plomgren) are likewise not amused – but the audience certainly was.
The Barries’ marriage is already on the rocks when the Llewelyn Davies children enter the picture. Barrie and his wife Mary clearly want different things – prestige in her case and children in his case. Mary finds herself drawn to Lord Cannan’s world, while the Llewelyn Davies boys become like family to the playwright, and in real life, he continued a supportive connection to their lives.
The play is based on the real story of the creation of Peter Pan but does diverge a bit from the real facts. Barrie already knew the boys and both their parents before their father died, and Barrie did not become close to the family until after his marriage to Mary had already ended. The variation from fact allows the play to compress time, streamline the story, and add a little extra drama.
The staging is strong. “Finding Neverland” is packed with delightful and funny song and dance numbers and wonderful, colorful sets. The whole cast is wonderful but the children are sometimes the standouts in their scenes. Kern’s J.M. Barrie is a big kid when he gets around them, while their mother plays his Wendy, and they are terrific to watch. In other scenes, Barrie plays with his evolving idea of Captain Hook (Tom Hewitt), part alter-ego and part other characters, which also adds to the fun.
Having built his career on plays for adults, the real Barrie never thought of “Peter Pan” as a play for children but as a play for adults to recall their childhoods. Still, his idea to set aside seats in the theater for orphaned children, a real event depicted in the play, both ensured the play’s success through the children’s delight in its fantasy world, and the play’s reputation as something for both kids and grown-ups.
“Finding Neverland” is pure enjoyment, one of the best things on stage this season, and winning choice for a holiday trip to the theater.
© Cate Marquis 2016
