Tony Yazbeck returns to Finding Neverland tonight

Tony nominee Tony Yazbeck returns to the Broadway production of Finding Neverland at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre tonight. He reprises his role as J.M. Barrie from Alfie Boe, due to injury. As of yet, there is no official return date for Mr. Boe.

Mr. Yazbeck previously played the role from 26 January through to 27 March 2016.

In addition, Paul Slade Smith and Dana Costello have also joined the cast, assuming the roles of Charles Frohman/Captain Hook and Mary Barrie, respectively, from Marc Kudisch and Teal Wicks.

The principal cast currently includes Tony Yazbeck (J.M. Barrie), Laura Michelle Kelly (Sylvia Llewelyn Davis), Paul Slade Smith (Charles Frohman), Sally Ann Triplett (Madame du Maurier), Dana Costello (Mary Barrie), Christian Michael Camporin, Alex Dreier, Jackson Demott Hill, Jack McCarthy, Christopher Paul Richards and Eli Tokash (The Llewelyn Davis Boys).

Christian Michael Camporin, Alex Dreier, Jackson Demott Hill, Jack McCarthy, Christopher Paul Richards and Eli Tokash 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 will play its final performance on 21 August 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.

Tony Yazbeck earned his Tony nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical in 2015 for 'On The Town.' His other Broadway credits include Irving Berlin's 'White Christmas,' 'Gypsy,' 'A Chorus Line,' 'Never Gonna Dance,' 'Oklahoma!,' and 'Chicago.'

- by Tom Millward