‘Finding Neverland’ flies high at Wharton Center
EAST LANSING, Mich.–There are stories and then there are the stories about our stories.
Finding Neverland is the latter–the story of how “Peter Pan” came to be. But in telling the origin of the boy who never grew up, it also tells the story of how one man finds himself through his acquaintance with a widow and her four children. It tells a story of what happens when we believe in fairies, and when we let our inner child out to play.
Finding Neverland is on a national tour that is currently at East Lansing’s Wharton Center. It’s a beautiful story with plenty of winks and nods to all those familiar with the story of “Peter Pan.” And really, who isn’t?
At the center of the show is the author of Peter Pan, playwright J.M. Barrie, played by Billy Harrigan Tighe. Tighe is perfect for the role, filled with curiosity and charisma. He interacts well with the children, quickly becoming one of the boys. Tighe gives Barrie a necessary sense of playfulness and an openness with adults and children alike.
Inspiring Tighe’s character is Sylvia, mother to the four boys, played by Lael Van Keuren. She is a breath of fresh air blowing through stuffy, hot Victorian England. Amid all the very prim and proper characters, she is relaxed, joyful and authentic. She loves her boys and wants to make good memories for them after the loss of their beloved father.
Van Keuren and Tighe create two shining stars in 1903 London. Their enthusiasm is infectious and it is hard to believe that you wouldn’t have everyone falling in love with their characters, which is why songs like “Play,” which takes place in a London bar is so exciting, for you finally see others catching on to their spirit.
When the play opens, Barrie is supposed to be delivering a new play to Charles Frohman (John Davidson). He’s close to finishing one, but is unhappy with it for it is, as Sylvia points out to him when they meet, the same as everything else he’s done in the past.
When he encounters her boys, they are actively immersed in their make-believe, turning the park into an island, searching for lost treasure and playing in the rambunctious manner of boys who are set free to go wherever their imaginations take them.
It doesn’t take long for this to inspire Barrie and he joins the boys in their play, much to the horror and disdain of his proper wife and their high society friends. It turns out there is a high price to be paid for allowing one’s inner child out to play and even as Barrie starts to write what the audience knows will be his life’s masterpiece, he is greeted with skepticism.
James Graham’s book and Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy’s music and lyrics ensure that this mostly non-fiction tale is told with magic and plenty of stagecraft. It is a tale about imagination and so it is told with imaginative vigor. There are times when the “real world” is transformed into the world of shared fantasy, and fantastical creatures appear as do tidal waves of water or ships. People take flight or make mischief on those with less imagination.
The show’s technicians and designers make great use of stagecraft with constantly changing backdrops, moving sets and furniture, props that create illusions and magical effects and lighting specials that help transport audience and actors alike to other worlds.
In one delightful scene, we see inside Barrie’s imagination as he starts to make mischief and then he is joined by Peter, much to their mutual surprise. They have a discussion about how they can get others to join them and who would be worth having join in their play.
The music is enjoyable throughout, though none of it is particularly memorable or anything you’ll be humming on your way out. Instead, it has its stirring moments (especially closing out the first half), it has its tender moments, and it has its uplifting moments.
There are four children in the show, performed by six different actors who rotate through three different roles each week. On opening night in East Lansing, Connor Casey played the role of Peter, the boy who is struggling the most with his father’s death. When the story begins, he’s given up playing and sits and reads while his brothers play. Casey brings a convincing melancholy to Peter, and he mirrors what has been happening in Barrie’s professional life. His Peter asks the probing questions that create change in Barrie’s outlook. All of the children do an excellent job, exuberantly playing and also capturing the quiet moments effectively.
There is also a dog who gets to steal his own moments on stage.
Mia Michaels has created some incredible choreography for this show. It adds layers to the storytelling whether it is the lock-step marching of London park-goers or the wild antics of Neverland inhabitants. She pumps an energy into the show, making sure the movement engages the audience.
Peter Pan stories are popular right now, in part because enough time has passed that the original story is no longer in copyright. This doesn’t have quite the energy and magic of “Peter and the Starcatcher,” but this story is non-fiction and filled with its own character.
“Finding Neverland” is a pretty story that is bittersweet. It reminds us all to play, to love, and to care about each other while searching for the joy in each day that we have.