I will begin by saying that I went in promising myself I was not going to pick apart the show for its factual inaccuracies. I have read 4 biographies on Barrie, but I realize that this is a work of fiction and I approached it as such.
There are really only two problems with this musical,
1. The Score
2. The book
1. The score is as bland and uninteresting as white bread. Looking over the song list and I can't think of very many numbers that really landed. Let's go through them and I will try to comment (though, to be honest, I don't think I will remember all of them, they kind of all mushed together).
ACT 1
"Anywhere But Here" I am trying to remember what this number was about. Honestly, I have no idea.
"Better" : If I remember correctly it was about disgruntled actors and a frustrated producer, as Barrie's play was opening and closing on the same night. (A lot of the numbers seemed to be about disgruntled actors, which was a big problem.)
I honestly remember "Better" as the first song, which leads me to think that "Anywhere" was cut from the show.
"Rearranging the Furniture": What an odd little number. All about Mrs. Barrie having the servants rearrange the furniture in her house. It would have made more sense for this to come later in the Act, after Barrie had met the Davies family, to show how useless she felt in his life. There could have been a sadness to this number, and we could have have felt sympathy for Mrs. Barrie, but as it was it really had no purpose.
"Believe" : Barrie meets the Llewellyn Davies family in Kensington Garden and they all hit it off terrifically!! This is another problem. There should have been a progression through Act 1 of Barrie slowly winning Syliva over (he already has the boys). Their attraction should not have been INSTANT! Also, it was never clear if Barrie was pulling inspiration from the boys or if he was inspiring them (and specifically Peter) or perhaps it was both. But one should have been focused on and it wasn't.
This number had a dancing dog, dancing bumble bees and dancing....clowns? Or something. There was also psychedelic animation being projected (think dancing flowers and rocket ships from a late 60s Beatles animated movie --I was half expecting that little copter bird with the wizard hat from the Brady Bunch cartoon to fly by). Honestly, it looked like something from some kids morning show on Nick Jr. Barrie's dog actually rode a tricycle!
"All That Matters" : I believe this was Sylvia's big Act 1 number and it was the first number in the show that landed. And most of it was just Sylvia on stage singing. But it was very nicely done.
"We Own the Night" : Barrie and the boys misbehave at a dinner party. The whole number is staged around a very long, elegant dining table. Unfortunately there were times when I was not sure where I was supposed to be looking; I heard actors talking but was not sure which actor was speaking. I also heard audience members laugh and I hadn't seen anything funny which means I was watching the wrong part of the table. The "funny stuff" that Barrie did was not very inventive (pouring peas over someone's head and sticking carrots in his ears).
"Sylvia's Lullaby" : Now we have entered the only part of the entire evening that WORKED. The Act 1 scene in the nursery was where I really FELT something (the only time the entire night!). The kids flying off their beds was so simply done, yet so effective. This lead into ...
"Neverland" : The only memorable tune of the night. Barrie sings it to Sylvia in the nursery while the boys are sleeping. Nice.
And then.....
"Circus of the Mind" : Everyone is criticizing Barrie for the "Circus of his mind". Dancers bring in what look like Carousel poles and mirrors, but the whole carousel thing never really comes together (and besides, carousels are at carnivals and fairs, not circuses).
"Hook" and "Stronger" : For some reason Capt. Hook enters the scene and somehow influences Barrie to stand up for his story. It was a huge production number, that was really a lot of psycho-babble. It looked neat, but the whole thing did not work at ALL! This whole number needs to go. It was confusing and made no sense.
Act 2
Oh, boy. Act one had some numbers that were effective, but Act two....nothing worked. And I mean NOTHING.
"The world is Upside Down" : Disgruntled actors (again). There is a name, I am sure, for those Act 2 opening numbers that are just filler, so that the late-comers won't have missed anything (think "Oom Pah Pah" or "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher"); that was what this number was.
"Play" : Charles Frohman, who has been grumpy and pessimistic all night, suddenly (and inexplicably) has a change of heart, and leads the actors in a song about being "play"ful. (Get it, cuz they are in a "play"). When I saw the set for a pub roll in, and then I saw those metal drinking mugs, I thought, "Please don't tell me they are going to do a drinking song where they bang and clack their metal mugs together." Then they did.
There is a name, I am sure, for those Act 2 opening numbers that are just filler, so that the late-comers won't have missed anything (think "Oom Pah Pah" or "Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher"); that was what this number was.
"What You Mean to Me" : If you are thinking this is a sappy love song that Barrie and Sylvia sing together, that ends with a kiss, you're right.
"We're All Made of Stars" : The "cute, kids number" (Think "You're Never Fully Dressed" from ANNIE). The boys sing about make-believe and pretending, in a very pop sounding song. There is a name, I am sure, for those Act 2 opening numbers that.... well, you get the idea. The kids really sold it, and they were all very invested, but...it just didn't work. Sorry kids.
"When Your Feet Don't Touch the Ground" : Suddenly, Sylvia is very sick, Peter has a breakdown and he and Barrie sing this song. First off, WAY too much plot in about an 8 minute scene (but that's the book, isn't it?). This really should have been how Act 1 ended, with the revelation of Sylvia's illness and Barrie singing a beautiful song of hope to Peter, and where we FINALLY see Barrie break through Peter's defenses (of course, we need more scenes of Barrie trying and failing to break through to Peter, so it really lands). Oh, and when I say a "Beautiful song of hope", "When Your Feet Don't Touch the Ground" wouldn't qualify. For that moment you need a REALLY special song.
And it should end Act 2, perhaps with Peter finally embracing Barrie. Send them to intermission with tissue.
"Something About This Night" : The disgruntled actors are no longer disgruntled! Peter Pan is a hit and they all come to the boys' nursery to show them the play. We get to see a "highlights of PETER PAN". Then this leads to ....
"Neverland Reprise" : Where Sylvia goes to Neverland (wow, that was QUICK!). Visually very impressive, but emotionally empty.
"Finale (All That Matters)" Barrie and Sylvia's mother reconcile, the boys are all happy and the entire cast comes out and sings at the audience.
Now onto...
2. The Book
Biggest problem, no focus. They need to ask themselves, "What is this musical ABOUT?" and then focus in on that. Is it about Barrie and Sylvia? Barrie and Peter? Barrie and Mrs. Barrie? Barrie writing PETER PAN? Is it about disgruntled actors?
I think it is about Barrie and the Llewlellyn Davies family. They need to focus on that --how Barrie wins the boys (except Peter), but Sylvia's mother keeps harping on Sylvia about that odd little man always in the house. How Sylvia needs to stand up to her mother and eventually welcome Barrie and his positive influence. Barrie keeps trying with Peter but nothing works. They really need to zoom in on that and give us less about Barrie the struggling author, and the disgruntled actors (they took up WAY too much time). The other boys need to be fleshed out a bit. They were written to be bland. Sylvia's illness and death happened way too quickly and as a result it seemed contrived. Yes, I know that is what REALLY happened, but it just comes up so quickly and then...BAM! She's gone!
Also, the play really catches little of Barrie's whimsy (in his day, I believe they were called "Barrie-isms"). There is one (in the nursery scene, where else?) when Barrie says, "Children should never be sent to bed, because they always wake up one day older." Barrie was FULL of little witticisms like that. One in particular I remember fondly went something like, "One who has died is merely ahead in a procession all leading that way. We have simply fallen behind, while stopping to tie a shoelace." A person writing a play about Barrie needs to be STEEPED in Barrie's work --read his letters and books. He had a definite tone and way of writing that tells us so much about him, but that just did not show up here in this musical. AND, one of the ways he caught the boys' attention was by telling GORY and BLOODY stories. The boys LOVED that (to Sylvia's dismay).
Perhaps more time should pass? Barrie being slightly older towards the end of the play (but then the boys would have to be older too wouldn't they? Oh, never mind!). Or maybe the play ends with an older Barrie remembering the boys when they are younger? I don't know but there was no emotional ending. It was very bland.
Random stuff:
The guy in the dog costume (Porthos) did not work!! The costume was not convincing (it looked very community theater). They need a real dog! If ANNIE can have Sandy, and The Old Man can have the Bumpus Hounds, then Barrie should have a real Porthos.
The actors were all invested and gave their all. They cannot be faulted. I was surprised that I like Jordan's Barrie --he was a lot more convincing than Depp was in the film.
On the way home I was thinking who might be able to come in and do this story justice. I came up with Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon. Norman is an award winner and Simon wrote some haunting music for THE SECRET GARDEN. But, I may be too hard on this show's creators. There is a good story in there, somewhere.
(I know I have been very critical, but I tried to put in some constructive ideas as well.)
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