Marc Kudisch to join Finding Neverland from 12 April 2016

Three-time Tony nominee Marc Kudisch will officially join the Broadway company of Finding Neverland as Charles Frohman/Captain Hook from 12 April 2016 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Emmy Award winner and Tony nominee Kelsey Grammer played his final performance in the role on 3 April 2016. Ensemble member Paul Slade Smith has been filling in the role in the meantime, until Mr. Kudisch's debut.

Producer Harvey Weinstein released the following statement:

"I'm so looking forward to what Marc will bring to the roles and to the show. He is one of our best performers, with a comedic range that's especially remarkable. And that voice! The pairing of Marc alongside our new J.M. Barrie Alfie Boe and the lovely Laura Michelle Kelly will make for a spectacular evening of musical theater."

"I've long admired Marc's work on stage. I am so excited for this opportunity to work with him on Finding Neverland, and I know he will make an unforgettable Frohman / Hook!"

The principal cast currently include Alfie Boe (J.M. Barrie), Laura Michelle Kelly (Sylvia Llewelyn Davis), Paul Slade Smith (Charles Frohman), 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 (The Llewelyn Davis Boys).

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 18 December 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 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