Weinstein has absorbed in reading dozens of books about the theater: The classic opening song “Tradition” was added late to “Fiddler on the Roof,” as was “Comedy Tonight” to “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.”įor Mr. Hooking the audience with an enthralling opening number is just one of many lessons that Mr.
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Paulus hopes to take another crack at it before critics review the show. But after an hour and a half of rehearsal, the new approach - cutting two songs in order to speed to the momentous first meeting of Barrie and the boys - didn’t feel right. Paulus had taken various stabs and were not completely satisfied. Barrie, and the four boys and their mother who inspired him to write “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.” The goal was to get to the heart of the musical faster: the emotionally powerful relationship between the main character, the playwright J. One frigid afternoon late last month, the “Neverland” cast and creators gathered to test out a restructured opening sequence. Weinstein is not just aiming for better but also best. With preview performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater now underway, Mr. If I knew what I know now, four and half years later, we could have done better.” “I think it was me, more than anything else. Weinstein said, in a recent interview, about his feel for theater early on in the show’s history. Weinstein what didn’t work when he started developing the musical, and he is willing to look in the mirror. The experience has been both searing and enlightening for him, as he’s gone from rough relationships with his first creative team to a close collaboration with his current one, led by the Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus. At 63, he has also become a student again, learning the art and craft of making musicals, one of the trickiest entertainment forms to get right. Weinstein has been more than a hands-on producer. He has even fussed over the dog in the cast, pushing for a real-live version instead of an actor. He has thrown himself into the role of script doctor, huddling over a laptop the other week with the show’s book writer, James Graham, trying to punch up jokes. He has overseen spending of roughly $20 million (before tax writeoffs) on a world premiere run in Britain and then on an entirely new version of the musical, which opens April 15 on Broadway.
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In making the leap from movie mogul to lead theater producer with his musical, “Finding Neverland,” Harvey Weinstein has fired or lost more actors, artists and executives than most impresarios do on their shows.