Terrence Mann replaces Kelsey Grammer in Neverland

Tony nominee Kelsey Grammer will no longer return to the Broadway premiere production of Finding Neverland after his Summer hiatus. Three-time Tony nominee Terrence Mann will now assume the role of Charles Frohman / Captain James Hook on 29 September 2015 from Australian musical and opera star Anthony Warlow, who continues in the role through to 27 September.

Director Diane Paulus commented:

"Working with Terry on Pippin was a thrilling experience, and I am beyond excited that we're reuniting on Finding Neverland. He is a Broadway legend, and I know his signature charisma and boundless talent will electrify our audiences."

Finding Neverland, directed by Diane Paulus, began previews on 15 March 2015 at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, before an official opening on 15 April, and is currently booking through to 3 July 2016.

Finding Neverland features a book by Olivier Award nominee James Graham, with music and lyrics by Grammy Award winner Elliot Kennedy and Gary Barlow, UK songwriter and member of popgroup Take That.

Synopsis: "When a playwright meets a widow and her four boys in Kensington Gardens, he embarks on a friendship that inspires one of the most beloved stories of all time. Based on the Miramax film written by David Magee, Finding Neverland follows the real-life relationship between the Llewelyn Davies family and James Matthew Barrie as he writes the revolutionary 1904 play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. This new musical explores the power of imagination to open up new worlds, and the pressures put upon those worlds by the prospect of growing up."

The cast currently include Matthew Morrison (J.M. Barrie), Anthony Warlow (Charles Frohman), Laura Michelle Kelly (Sylvia Llewelyn Davis), Carolee Carmello (Madame du Maurier), Teal Wicks (Mary Barrie), Alex Dreier, Aidan Gemme, Jackson Demott Hill, Noah Hinsdale, Sawyer Nunes, Christopher Paul Richards, and Hayden Signoretti with Courtney Balan, Dana Costello, Colin Cunliffe, Rory Donovan, Chris Dwan, Kevin Kern, Josh Lamon, Melanie Moore, Mary Page Nance, Fred Odgaard, Emma Pfaeffle, Jonathan Ritter, Tyley Ross, Julius Anthony Rubio, Paul Slade Smith, Ron Todorowski, Jaime Verazin and Jessica Vosk.

The creative team behind Finding Neverland features choreography by Mia Michaels, scenic design by Tony Award winner Scott Pask, lighting by Phillip S. Rosenberg, costumes by Suttirat Larlarb, and sound design by Tony nominee Jonathan Deans.

The pre-Broadway engagement of Finding Neverland, which starred Jeremy Jordan as J.M. Barrie, concluded on 28 September 2014, after 75 sold-out performances at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was the highest attended and highest grossing production in A.R.T.'s 34-year history.

- by Tom Millward