In January, I had more than the privilege to attend the first BroadwayCon in New York City with my best friend. How could a weekend full of show tunes and meetings with an endless amount of Broadway stars get better? This was what I thought before my friend surprised me with two orchestra seat tickets to see Finding Neverland. Of course the day that we should have seen the show was when the huge blizzard hit the city and everything was shut down. They did open the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre the next day and our seats were moved up a few rows. It was one of the best moments in my Broadway watching career because I went in with no expectations, and I came out in tears of happiness because I had found my new favorite Broadway show.
Finding Neverland was the first time I had ever been close enough to the stage to see the singers physically demonstrate their vibrato voices (and also their sweat). The original cast of the show was absolutely wonderful and better than the cast was when I saw it a second time in March. What a different a show makes just by the cast. One of the most difficult challenges that was overcome in the show was faced by the main actor: Matthew Morrison who perfected the Scottish accent, especially while singing. Articulation was his key to success because the audience could understand every word that he sang and said. Scottish accents are heavy, but he perfected it in a way that the actor who played the same character during the second time I saw the show in March, could not do as well.
Another singer in the show that unexpectedly impressed me was Laura Michelle Kelly who played the lead female character. After watching Kelly perform twice in this show, I have been in awestruck in how her voice can effortlessly float to the top of her range. Listening to her sing in person is better than how she sounds on the cast recording. When I saw her the first time and I was able to be ten feet away, I could see her actually crying while she sang her solo song “All That Matters”. It is a powerful piece about her strength with having to leave her kids as she is dying because she is sick. I made sure to pay close attention to her breathing techniques as she sang. I especially noticed her diaphragm and her skills to take advantage of that. Kelly also did not have to sing with a forte dynamic, her piano voice was stunning and drew attention from seats. As she sang, you could hear a pin drop in the theater and tears from the audience because she was that powerful of a singer.
After taking voice lessons at CSE, I have paid less attention to the story line and more attention to technique while watching Broadway shows. Although the performances are absolutely amazing, the actors ar human and they do make mistakes. I did notice a huge change when I saw the show again two months later and there were other actors (Kelly was still performing). The actors were not as strong in their vocal performances and I would not have been impressed if it was the not the second time that I watched the show. After watching Finding Neverland, I realized that vocal performance is much more than singing the correct pitches and being on key. You need to convey the emotions in a song with facial expressions and to not hold back your feelings. That is the magic of music.
You can catch a flight to Neverland as the show will be going on its first national tour.
