In "Finding Neverland," J.M. Barrie is a playwright in desperate need of a hit. Walking in London's Kensington Park with his shaggy dog, he finds inspiration in a young widow and her four young boys.
Thus is born the tale of Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up — and along with it a 113-year-old literary commodity that has spawned silent films, animated Disney features, Broadway musicals and biographical musings on Barrie.
“Finding Neverland” — the 2015 Broadway musical that led to the national tour at the Fox Theatre through Sunday — falls in the latter category. It’s the backstory that imagines the man behind the myth.
Based on Allan Knee’s loosely biographical play about Barrie and the subsequent 2004 film starring Johnny Depp as the mischief-and-magic-loving author, “Finding Neverland” is a tale of love and awakening.
The unhappily married Barrie (wonderfully played by Atlanta native Billy Harrigan Tighe) is transformed by Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Christine Dwyer) and her boys. They, in turn, find joy in this playful, avuncular figure who becomes a surrogate father.
RELATED: Atlanta actor fulfills dream of playing leading role on Fox Theatre stage
Alas, the problem with “Finding Neverland,” as conceived by playwright James Graham and songwriters Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy, is that it seems to take forever for Barrie to find it.
Before the popular writer can devise his most iconic story, he must negotiate and navigate his way around a harried theatrical producer (Rory Donovan), the snobby London social set (including a comical British lord and Sylvia’s stern and regal mother), and a company of actors who are chomping at the bit for their next gig.
By hook or by crook, Barrie will find his way. But from the audience’s point of view, the results are a bit mixed. Still, it must be noted that the spectacle is beautifully designed and strongly performed by a nimble ensemble.
Director Diane Paulus does her best to deliver a cohesive musical from choreographer Mia Michael’s uneven grab bag of dance numbers and a bunch of squishy-sweet songs recalling Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jonathan Larson. (We don’t want to spoil the plot, but let’s just say that Sylvia’s hacking cough ultimately seals her fate just like Mimi in Larson’s “Rent” and Puccini’s “La Boheme.”)
There’s so much going on here that it can be hard to get a bead on Barrie’s journey. I never found it very compelling, though the numbers that feature Tighe and Dwyer can be quite gorgeous and affecting.
Most of this show’s great moments come from the campy, backstage shenanigans that arise from the making of the play within the play. Mr. Cromer (Matt Wolpe) and Mr. Henshaw (Dwelvan David) are actors with a capital “A.” Their prima-donna meltdowns bring to mind some of the shtick Woody Allen envisioned for “Bullets Over Broadway.”
That they insist on calling everyone “darling” leads to some silly business involving a mix-up with their newfound role as members of Barrie’s fictional Darling family. This comes across as pretty tired. But when one of the Llewelyn Davies boys asks Mr. Henshaw if he believes in fairies, his response stops the show. Rolling his eyes and waiting for the audience’s twittering to subside, David deadpans: “Young man, I work in the theater. I see them every day.”
In the over-the-top acting department, Karen Murphy is also terrific as Sylvia’s mother, the ferocious Mrs. Du Maurier. With her soaring red hair and grand demeanor, Murphy reads like an amalgamation of Agnes Moorehead and Lynn Redgrave. She’s sublime. And let’s not forget Kristine Reese as the lovely but ultimately somehow crass Mary Barrie.
Designers Scott Pask (sets), Suttirat Anne Larlarb (costumes) and Kenneth Posner (lighting) are world-class, and their work gets glorious treatment here. (The opening sequence recalls “Sunday in the Park With George.” Like so much of the show, this feels rather derivative but is pure eye candy nonetheless.)
In the end, “Finding Neverland” is a tribute to the young men who play the Llewelyn Davies boys. On Tuesday night, Ben Krieger imbued his Peter with credible conflict; Finn Faulconer sang beautifully as George; Mitchell Wray demonstrated grace and maturity as Jack; and Jordan Cole rounded out the foursome as the adorable Michael. As Barrie’s canine companion Porthos, the actor-dog Sammy is quite the charmer and minds his P’s and Q’s, too.
Of course, not to be dismissed were Wolpe (whose Cromer has to learn how not to act so he can play the young Michael) and David (who is so humiliated at the thought of playing Nana the dog). In being so faithful to Barrie's intentions to turn the Darling family into figures of fun, these delightful performers pack as much sparkle as Tinkerbell.
IN OTHER NEWS:
THEATER REVIEW
“Finding Neverland”
Grade: B-
Through May 21. 7:30 p.m. May 17-18; 8 p.m. May 19-20; 2 p.m. May 20; 1 and 6:30 p.m. May 21. $33.50-$153.50. Presented by Broadway in Atlanta. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 1-855-285-8499, foxtheatre.org/neverland.
Bottom line: J.M. Barrie backstory is a bit shaggy, in more ways than one.
About the Author
