Music and lyrics by Gary Barlow & Eliot Kennedy. Book by James Graham. At: Cadillac Palace Theater, 151 W. Randolph St. Tickets: 800-775-2000; BroadwayinChicago.com; $27-123. Runs through: Dec 4
Finding Neverland, the Broadway musical tour, has landed in Chicago. It's based on the movie and play about author J.M. Barrie and the family that inspired the classic Peter Pan.
J.M. Barrie is tasked by theater owner Charles Frohman ( Tom Hewitt ) to write a new hit play. Barrie meets Sylvia Llewelyn Davies ( Christine Dwyer ) and her children in the park. One of her children, Peter ( Ben Krieger ), is saddened by his father's death and not participating in his brother's playtime. Barrie shows Peter through his stories that he should embrace imagination. Once Barrie writes Peter Pan, the actors in the theater company struggle to find their own imaginations. However, everyone does, more tragedy happens and Peter Pan is created for the world.
It starts out in a London park where the residents sing "Welcome to London." Musicals opening with a production number are nothing new, but this one has the residents all hopping up and down in a weird affected manner. The song does nothing for the story except set up the fact that this is going to be a night of very broad performances. It goes from Londoners hopping around to servants marching around. These people almost always leave the stage with their head popping back with their body moving forward like a cartoon. From the way the servants, dinner guests, actors and residents act, it's clear that the creators think that every man in London is foppish and gay—which is amusing, yet mildly offensive.
When the commotion stops and Kevin Kern, who plays J.M. Barrie, steps up to sing "My Imagination," the show finds its soul. He has a very nice singing voice and was at his best in solos or duets, but he sort of got lost in some of the bigger numbers; also, his English accent could be more consistent. Christine Dwyer, as Sylvia, also has a really good singing voice, as highlighted in her solos. When they have their big romantic song together, however, the song "What You Mean To Me" isn't as magical as it should be and falls flat.
The score and book of this musical are all over the place, with musical numbers and moments that just come out of nowhere, from the weird dinner-party scene where the kids and servants misbehave to the even stranger dark "Circus of Your Mind," which combines a dark imagery with bad song lyrics. Then the show hits its climax as Barrie creates/discovers Captain Hook ( a transformed Hewitt ). Unfortunately, Hewitt isn't very strong as Captain Hook and that falls flat as well. The sets are mostly highlighted projections that may amuse kids but made me long for real sets.
As for the other performances, the top fop, as it were, was Dwelvyn David ( Mr. Henshaw ), a flamboyant actor upset at his role in Peter Pan. He is very funny and a crowd-pleaser. If I cast this show, he would be Charles Frohman/Captain Hook because he has the stage presence for it. The kids are all wonderful in the show, especially Ben Kreiger as Peter.
Overall, this isn't a great Broadway musical and, although kids might be amused at the projections, its serious themes will be lost on them. All this show does is make you long for a good production of Peter Pan. I'm ready for Finding Neverland to walk the plank.
