Finding Neverland

This is a wonderful show from beginning to end. The look into the backstory of Peter Pan and JM Barrie is so touching. Choreography is different and unique, vocal selections are beautiful. The kids are fabulous! We saw Tony Yazbeck as JM Barrie and he was fantastic.
Absolutely loved Laura Michelle Kelly and Paul Slade Smith. It’s hard to believe this show is closing. See it while you can!

I am a fan of the show, but not the Unilocal Website. I had just composed a full review, but when I was asked to sign in and post it, it disappeared. My husband and I attended the performance on Tuesday, 6/​7, and thoroughly enjoyed both the concept of the show and its brilliant execution onstage. It’s a shame that it will be closing in the near future, as more theatregoers deserve the opportunity to see it.

What an amazing performance!
We purchased tickets for the show earlier this year because Kelsey Grammar was playing the lead. He has such a command of the English language, I was looking forward to seeing him perform. When we arrived at the theatre, he was no longer in the play. Ah, the show must go on.
The show is based on J.M. Barrie and how the story of Peter Pan came to life. The story at the time was too abstract for adults to comprehend, a bunch of lost boys? How did they get lost in the first place? Flying fairies? A crocodile that swallowed a clock? Just like Wicked, the magic of Broadway transforms a story and puts a unique spin on things. I won’t spoil it for y’all!
From the great music to the costumes and set designs, Finding Neverland is a well acted, 5 star play that’s fun for both young & old.

We saw this last Friday. Was it good? Yes. BUT: they promoted it with Matthew Morrison and Kelsey Grammer. Neither are in the cast anymore.
It was a good show, but we felt cheated that they did not list ANYWHERE that the name stars they are promoting are no longer in the show.
We paid $ 1000 for four seats. We felt cheated.

This Broadway show is easily one of the best I’ve seen, if not the best — the ending is SO powerful that I got goosebumps and misty-​eyed. And looking around, it was clear that I wasn’t the only one. Amazing cast — so happy to be able to see Alfie Boe play the main character after missing him on Les Mis. His acting and voice was just so powerful, but to be honest everyone else’s was as well. Also, I’ve heard of the pop-​version of the soundtrack before watching the show, so putting the songs into context of the musical was also extra powerful for me. The use of visual effects and the stage design were all perfect — literally can’t ask for more.

I hadn’t heard much about this show so I had no expectations.
What a fantastic surprise. It is phenomenal. The main actor, I think his name is Alfie Boe, is absolutely outstanding. All the actors are absolutely outstanding. They even have a real dog acting on stage who does a great job.
The only actor who was disappointing was Peter Pan, who had a very minor role at the very end. It was cast with a woman who had an extraordinarily fake and irritating laugh and just generally annoying, and didn’t look like Peter Pan in any way whatsoever. It was strange given the superior rest of the cast.
Overall, I highly recommend this show.

This was the first Broadway show we brought the girls to and we picked a winner. Finding Neverland is a nonstop ride full of crack up and misty eye moments. As I watched the show I took sneak peeks at my kids and they were totally enthralled. While it is a musical I felt the story drove this more than catchy songs though there were several. My favorite was «Stronger» at the end of Act One. The company gave excellent performances highlighted by the one and only Kelsey «Hi this is Dr. Frasier Crane, I’m listening» Grammer who was superb as theater owner Charles Frohman/​Captain Hook! If you’re looking for a family friendly five star show that will reach all ages then watch Finding Neverland!

Probably a close second to Wicked in my opinion. Definitely worth watching!!!
Great storyline, gives you all the feels in the right places. Set was *magical*. I think I caught the performance where the understudy of Sylvia performed. Still a great performance nevertheless.
Had all the little details that made the show hilarious in places and gave you the right pushes to make your eyes start watering. Beautifully told, would definitely recommend.
This is what I would expect of a Broadway show (compared to Chicago).
Paid around 80 bucks since I got my tickets 3 hours before the show at TKTS booth. This was a completely spontaneous decision to go see the show, but I was so glad I watched it. My Broadway experience wouldn’t have been complete without this show.
This is the backstory of the writer of Peter Pan!

Acting and singing was excellent. It was a solid performance by cast.
On story line, it starts slow picking up speed with pirate scene just before intermission, but it slowed down in the second act. The story is related to Peter Pan so it would attract younger crowd, which was evident by age of attendees, but the maturity level of plot seem more appropriate for adults. Adults would appreciate nuances of writer’s block reconciling creativity vs worldly commercial objectives. It was questionable the relationship development of J Barrie and Sylvia. For small kids understanding the dilemma of married man single/​widowed woman seem hard to explain.
3.5 stars rounded to 4

This is a broadway musical based on the life of J.M. Barry, the author of Peter Pan.
I bought tickets for my family to see on Christmas Day and the show was AMAZING! Me and my sister were huge fans of Glee so we both excited to see Matthew Morrison on broadway. Our seats were in the 3^rd row center. Me and my sister were fan girling the whole time because we were just 5 feet from Matthew Morrison! I couldn’t breathe.
The whole cast was fantastic, the music was great, the show was a perfect mixture of emotion, humor, deeper meanings, and fun. It was inspiring, exciting and believable. There were very funny scenes and a VERY emotional ending. I was intrigued from the beginning all the way to the very end of the production. The staging, set and lighting were also great. I was left in awe, especially after the pirate scene at the end of the first act.
I cannot say enough about how much my family enjoyed this experience. It was one of my favorite newer Broadway shows I’ve seen recently.
To top it off, Matthew Morrison came out after the show to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. He took his time with every person, even on Christmas Day! Me and my sisters got selfies with him and almost fainted. It was definitely a great Christmas!

I’m so glad that I decided to go to this Broadway show during my stay in NYC.
THIS SHOW IS AMAZING!!!
Now, if you’re a fan of the movie with Johnny Depp, I’m sure you’ll like this show.
The story was just so beautifully told and depicted and made me teary during some of the scenes.
I had a pretty good seat on the second floor, right at the railing. Although the seats in the theater are very small, much smaller than economy on a plane, it was comfortable. Off course you’ll be bumping a few elbows but it’s not too bad.
I highly recommend you the watch this show if you’re ever in NYC.

Got my tickets half price at the TKTS boot, so still paid around $ 80 but for really front seats (third row but on the left)
I feel like with the side view I did miss out on some of the visual effects they tried to create, like with the sheets blowing when they are on a bed.
The story is of the writer of Peter Pan so in many ways very ‘real’. Which is not what I looked for. They do mix it with fantasy and you see where he inspired his Peter Pan story on.
Good music and songs, the kids were truly brilliant.

My review is based on the show and the front door staff.
We attended in the middle of February when it was freezing cold. The 2 men working at the front door made us wait outside in the cold (said they were clearing the lobby), 5 minutes later, let other groups in before us even though we had been there longer. Also one of the men was talking about how he couldn’t wait to get home to smoke his weed and then called me miserable! I certainly wasn’t miserable but was not impressed about being made to wait in –10 degree weather and then have others let in before us. Nor do I want to hear about someone’s drug use. A bit unprofessional.
The show was good but needs some more ‘wow’ to compare with other shows available on Broadway. Just special effects really. The acting was good.

This was a great musical. I would also consider myself lucky to have scored 3^rd row seats, so I could watch beads of sweat run down Matthew Morrison’s studly face.
I wasn’t super eager to watch this musical when it first came out. But then, I was watching an episode of Project Runway, and there was a challenge where the designers had to create a piece inspired by the musical. Obviously, in order to understand the challenge you have to have seen the musical. So, I guess I had to get myself a ticket and see why Candice won that challenge.
The story of Peter Pan is a classic favorite. The musical itself throws in spots of humor with references to Kelsey Grammer’s previous work (only if you’re familiar would find these jokes funny). The singing and dancing (choreography by Mia Michaels) was phenomenal and made even more impressive because of the young talent in the cast.
I will say that there was a missed opportunity with the special effects. There was one «wow» moment towards the end of the show which I yearned for more of throughout the musical. I wished for more of those moments because the story is a magical one. The core of the story and the plot is about imagination and creativity, which I didn’t get much from the costumes or the props. Instead, the special effects were essentially replaced with Tinker Bell tossing throngs of glitter up in the air, which I can only say were the best special effect moments in the musical.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the singing and dancing. I definitely think that the show would not have been as great as it would’ve been without Matthew Morrison and Kelsey Grammer. Matthew Morrison’s final performance will be on January 24, 2016, so I would highly recommend watching it before he leaves.

What a sweet show! «Finding Neverland» has plenty of excellent acting and some memorable music — especially the ballad «When Your Feet Don’t Touch The Ground.» But there is a moment which if you have any idea of the Peter Pan story… and who doesn’t…that you know is coming in the second act and yet it still is one of the most magical moments you’ll ever experience in the theatre anywhere. The spontaneous eruption of huge applause from all corners of the theatre by young and old hopefully means Tinker Bell as well as the kid in us will live forever!

AMAZING SHOW! I came here with no prior knowledge of Finding Neverland’s plot (except for some obvious connection to the Peter Pan) and with a bit of a crush on Matthew Morrison.
The story was incredible, made me laugh and want to cry at the same time. Whether it was a musical number with just the main character, the main duo, or the entire cast, the execution was fantastic.
I’ve always thought Matthew Morrison had a pretty good voice on Glee, but it’s clear that his true talent is on the stage. My favorite scenes were the ones of him and the little Peter. So adorable, so heartwarming, and at times sadly a little heartbreaking.

Finding Neverland was simply magical. I was captivated throughout the entire show. I was so impressed by the talent, the music, the comedy, the acting, the stage sets and lighting. It is truly a gorgeous, spectacular show. Finding Neverland is guaranteed to bring out out your inner-​child and make you cry at least once. It is definitely one of my new favorite Broadway shows.
Every single song is catchy and enjoyable, which is so rare. Each show usually has one or two songs that tend to drag on a little bit. That is not the case with this musical. Finding Neverland has a great variety of musical numbers, with diverse styles and subject matter. I love them all. I especially love «Stronger,» the duet between Matthew Morrison & Captain Hook right before intermission. Morrison’s powerful voice belting out that ballad actually gave me goosebumps. My other favorites are: «Play,» «We’re All Made of Stars,» «We Own the Night» and «Neverland (Reprise).»
The cast is perfect. I obviously love Matthew Morrison as Mr. Barrie (although I’m probably biased because I’ve had a huge crush on him since Season 1 of Glee.) I did not get to see Kelsey Grammar as Frohman/​Captain Hook. I saw Anthony Warlow instead, who took strong command of his role. He is able to play both a villain and a likable character. Laura Michelle Kelly is completely lovable as Ms. Davies. She is probably the best vocalist in the show. It was the Davies children who really stood out for me during this performance. I got to see Casey Butler, Alex Dreier, Jackson Demott HIll and Noah Hinsdale. They are so charismatic and passionate about their roles. Their voices are also beautiful. They performed «We’re All Made of Stars» together perfectly.
The story is moving and heartwarming, just like the movie. The sets, lighting and special effects took my breath away. They are absolutely stunning. At times, the visuals and mystical music truly made us feel like we had traveled to Neverland. I would go see this show again in a heartbeat. I recommend it to men and women of all ages. It is a great family show and you don’t have to be a Broadway enthusiast to appreciate it.

Summary: Go if you have a crush on Will Schuester or if you need to see a Broadway production. Avoid if you’ve a strong inner critic or can’t stand to see the main character get upstaged in every scene. The kids were pretty amazing and worth seeing.
The Venue: It’s a great venue and the perfect size for what will likely be a shorter lived, though modestly profitable musical. I would try to keep the run limited.
The Costuming: This was truly the highlight of the show. I actually wanted to purchase a few of them for my own wardrobe. Wardrobe did a lovely job of creating costumes that were in multiple scenes but accessorized so only keen eyes could tell she was wearing the same dress. The cuts chosen were flattering despite allowing people to move around stage 5 stars.
The Staging: There were some real gem moments, and others where I felt like the producer must not have tried out every seat in the house during dress rehersal to understand what one might see closer to stage. I found the tree images that are lightly patterned from past scenes on the backing of black to be distracting in scenes where it didn’t make sense. This was particularly bad in their best choral numbers, Stronger and circus of your mind. The black areas were lit both as forest and as water. Why? Just pick one.
I do like the way in which Something about the night was blocked and the effects were conducted. Very lovely ending there. Although… Peter pan, don’t carry your shadow after sewing it on. It’s just weird. Have another character remove it so you can then dance around and make lighting do their job and figure out a character who can bring a strong enough light to light a freakin shadow.
The Blocking Singing & Vocals:
I could go scene by scene, but generally speaking Morrison should stick to TV where you are using a recording that can be amplified relative to other voices. On stage, he lacks ability to project the lower part of his range. I think you need a tenor with enough chest to do a strong baritone. Morrison just doesn’t have it. Even in the front rows I hear the unmic-​ed tenor who walks upstage in Live by the Hook better than Morrison through most of the show. His character comes off as a mumbler and the orchestra has to do all the work to get the emotion right for the scene.
The worst part of it is that Mary, Mrs. du Maurier, and Sylvia were all extremely trained vocalists with the ability to project both volume and emotion. It was like watching the dream team in the ’92 Olympics just devastate literally every team, except this is a musical and it just served to accentuate the problem. Even the children — who already upstage him on cuteness — further upstaged him on vocal belting ability. I openly and excitedly cheered in the number «The Pirates of Kensington» as it’s one of the only numbers without Morrison is not singing and I get to hear singers at the right levels in harmony.
Morrison lacks the sensuality of the leading man except in one or two scenes. He also lacks the fatherliness to truly carry the scenes with the kids. It’s truly the difference between stage and theater acting and it was sad to see, as I do actually like Glee a lot. He just looks like he’s desperately trying to stay loud enough and on key at the same time. (choose the later as the trade off. I did not catch him off key). The children were off at times, but they are so cute and it was minor and I think we will see more of them in the future as their careers blossom and voices drop. The children are the reason I gave this 3 stars instead of 2 stars. Their roles are far more significant in this play than others and they carried their parts brilliantly.
All of the female vocalists were true belters, the boys didn’t stand a chance if they failed to get a lead that couldn’t belt. In scenes where the boys outnumber the girls, are acceptable. Your baritones are just not there and your tenors aren’t quite Pavarotti enough for the missing full lead male voice to sing over 4 strong soprano/​mezzo soprono leads. Even worse, Morrison appears unable to sing and move at the same time. I was hoping this was sound just needing to replace his mic.
It’s really sad to see, because Hook was great vocally and in acting. Frohman has a look and is good, but he’s not biggest belter out there. Still he did fab in his respective areas, and the other cameos in the troup all knew how to project their parts. It becomes obvious it’s really Morrison.
If you don’t know music well enough to notice levels, then this play is quite lovely. If you can, wait until Morrison’s understudy is playing the lead, my suspicion is you’ll get a better sense for how the music and lyrics were suppose to work together.
I try to see all the musicals, so of course you should go. I’m sure they will correct all these things.

Initially I rsvp’d because I saw it was Peter Pan related and secondly I haven’t been to a broadway show in awhile and thought, it couldn’t hurt. Ingrid gets her Finding Neverland sippy cup of red wine and scootles down into her chair next to her buddy. This is going to be great! Opens playbill. «OH MY GOD. Matthew Morrison and Kelsey Grammer are in this?!» I felt like I hit the jackpot. What a pleasant surprise.
A few minutes in I realized that this is a play and musical adaptation of the Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet movie of «Finding Neverland». I’m a fan of the movie but I’m well aware that it drags in certain parts. I honestly have to say though this didn’t drag and was fairly entertaining throughout its duration. One of my more particular favorite scenes was the dinner party where half the cast is acting crazy and half the cast is freeze framed because of the powers of MAGIC and the IMAGINATION! The actors were pretty spot on. The songs were shockingly clever and well written. Matthew Morrison can belt out a great tune and looks pretty great doing it even with a shifty Irish accent. Kelsey Grammer is an impeccable and witty as hell Captain Hook.
The elaborate settings and costumes sucked me in. I laughed, I cried (literally), *Spoiler Alert*, How can you not cry when Peter asks why his mother must die? Flood. There were mermaids. Bears on rollerskates. And yes, we clapped when they asked if we believed in fairies. I think this play is one of the few that is great for all ages and something that is not completely Disney stamped that parents can enjoy as well. Standing ovation. Well done.

The world is upside down!
Finding Neverland is an original musical with music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy and a book by James Graham. Inspired by the 2004 film Finding Neverland, this tell us the history how the writer James was inspire to write Peter Pan.
The music take us back when James was losing his touch of written good play, he did not notice that he was on the loop written the same play over and over again and nobody had the courage to say this to his face.
Until one day he meets a widow and her four children (Michael, Jack, George and Peter) in which establishes a great friendship. The widow let James know that he was writing the same play only with little things different s.
James notes that one of the widow children, Peter does not play like his other brothers, he wonders why, the mother Sylvia told him that Peter since her Husband died start to act like a adult and that he has lost the sense of being a kid.
After this he decide to show Peter and his brothers the power of imagination and this how he can travel the world each day with loss voice and fairy only using his mind.
In the end that was the way that James was inspire to write Peter Pan (give the name Peter in honor of his new buddy).
Throughout the play Silvia and James fall in love, but then they discover that Sylvia was suffering from a diseased and she dies.
Sylvia leaves the custody of their children to James, although Sylvia’s mother did not agree with this, but ultimately had to accept the will of her daughter.
At the end James told Peter that his mom always was going to be in his imagination.
Great show, great script, great band, wonderful actors. I recommend seeing this play.
Thanks Ruggy, Unilocal,Broadway and Lunt-​Fontanne Theatre for this one.