Discovering Neverland, with music and lyrics by Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy and a e-book by James Graham, follows playwright J.M. Barrie via a artistic rut and right into a friendship with the widowed Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her 4 younger sons. Taking part in with them, Barrie finds the spark for Peter Pan, even because the theater world round him doubts him.
Triune Leisure’s staging, directed by Renée De Ponte, is at its greatest when it trusts creativeness over spectacle. De Ponte brings the present’s fanciful world to life with heat and readability, and she or he meets the problem of a 27-person forged, generally all onstage without delay, with staging that stays readable as an alternative of chaotic. Choreography by Abby Rozmajzi and Abby Chaumont is top-notch, and the ensemble commits totally to it. Jack Tessier’s lighting is seamless, supporting every shift between Barrie’s London and his creativeness with out calling consideration to itself.
The night’s easy star is Jennifer Ayers as Sylvia. Her singing voice is a real standout, and her sincere, unforced appearing offers the present its emotional middle. Brian Donahue is spot-on as Barrie, with a constant dialect and an appearing type stuffed with coronary heart. He generally struggles with the vocal vary the position calls for, and in some sung passages he turns into tough to listen to and perceive. Brad Broemmel is enjoyable to observe as Frohman and Captain Hook, commanding the stage with apparent relish, although his dialect wavers all through. Monica Kelly has the appearing chops for Mrs. du Maurier and correctly sidesteps presentational decisions, although she sometimes appears to lack confidence in her songs, and her dialect slips at occasions. Her scenes with Ayers are among the many greatest within the present.
The Davies boys, together with Peter, all look like about the identical age, which sometimes disrupted my suspension of disbelief, for the reason that story presents them as brothers of various ages. Casting kids who can deal with roles like these is tough, and the younger actors do properly. Porthos the canine is an excellent boy, although I couldn’t discover his identify in this system.
Probably the most creative moments come when the manufacturing leans into creativeness. The staging of “My Creativeness” is nice. “Circus of Your Thoughts” is the spotlight of the night, with robust decisions and daring staging, although Frohman was noticeably off rhythm with the backing observe at its begin. “Play,” with the total ensemble concerned, is one other excessive level. I wanted for extra of this sort of invention and fewer typical stylization elsewhere. In among the bigger numbers, the background ensemble’s presentational decisions clashed with the realism of the scene and have become distracting.
Sound is the place the manufacturing runs into hassle. Pairing recorded accompaniment with stay singers is difficult, and at occasions the steadiness between voices and observe was off. Extra noticeable have been the physique microphones. By my rely, on greater than eight events an actor’s mic was lifeless till it got here on mid-scene. With each different mic working, the lapses stood out. That is early within the run, and I count on the crew will tighten it up.
The present’s different situation is the writing, not the efficiency. At two and a half hours, not together with the 15-minute intermission, Discovering Neverland feels lengthy, and a few numbers are redundant, restating what the story has already established as an alternative of shifting it ahead. The forged and artistic crew do what they’ll with that materials and infrequently elevate it.
Triune’s manufacturing doesn’t repair the present’s structural issues, however it delivers what issues most: sincerity, a forged that clearly cares in regards to the story, and some moments of actual theatrical magic. As soon as the sound settles, will probably be a fair stronger night.
Working Time: Roughly two hours and half-hour, with a 15-minute intermission.
Discovering Neverland performs via November 1, 2026, introduced by Triune Leisure LLC, acting at Journey Theatre, 4175 Bludau Dr, Warrenton, VA. Buy tickets ($27 for adults, $23 for youngsters) on-line or on the door.
