As you may gather from my site name I love Peter Pan stories so of course I’ve seen Finding Neverland — though not on Broadway with Matthew Morrison but an earlier version of the show in Boston with Jeremy Jordan.
But for the second week in a row it was a challenge I was not only interested in/excited for, but one I felt I could do (if I had any skill/talent in construction which I sadly do not). Well done, PR!
The Challenge: Create a look based on your experience watching Finding Neverland on Broadway.
SAFE:
Designer: Merline was worried that her version of ‘thinking outside of the box’ is actually thinking INSIDE the box because she’s normally outside it and I really liked that.
Look: I don’t get much Neverland or Broadway out of this, but I do get a bit of Victorian England. It’s fine but nothing special (and the sleeves look droopy in this picture).
Designer: Swapnil cut back on smoking and put somewhere between 60% and 210% (depending on who you ask and when, and how you figure percentages) more effort into the competition and design. . . .And ended up safe. I completely understand why he would NOT put the effort in. It’s patently clear he’s the judges and series favorite and it’s his title to lose so why try so hard when he can coast and land in the top?
Look: The skirt is so pretty and I can see a lot of Wendy/Sylvia in the design of this look. And it has a balletic feel to it I really like. It’s not amazing, but I am confused how the judges awarded points this week since they didn’t actually seem to agree/like all the top looks and I’d like to know what they thought of this and how it ended up safe.
LOSERS:
Designer: Ashley’s confidence is directly linked to how she feels about and/or is inspired by her design. She seemed a little lost on this from the get go. Her inspiration/connection to the show had something to do with her grandmother (lots of grandmothers got shout outs this week) but she’d spoken of that before this challenge and I feel it was not a strong element in THIS challenge. She had an idea of what she wanted to do, but it was not realized. Possibly she just ran out of time (the fit was all wrong on the model and she didn’t have a chance to really address that).
Look: Maybe it would be great if fully realized but it’s equally possible this was just a bad idea.
Designer: Laurie got to talk to the camera so much I was sure she was going home. That’s how little screen time she normally gets. She was inspired by Tinker Bell and instantly I was rooting for her.
Look: But this is a disaster. If the top was lined, if the shorts fit correctly, if it wasn’t made out of upholstery — MAYBE there is something here. But it needs A LOT of work.
Designer: Oh Lindsey. She is correct that the judges really never ‘got’ her. I’m not sure I did, either, tbh. She is so so so so low key she makes no impact at all.
Look: Here’s another one undone by lack of time/ability to adjust the design to the model. I really, really want to know how the models are being assigned because they are definitely switching around and it does seem to be affecting the proceedings? Anyway, this model is literally styled to look like Tinker Bell but no one mentioned that and it makes me sad. It looks like a Tink costume for reals. But it was another v v low key look from Lindsey and Nina is over it. I think it is fair for Lindsey to leave instead of Laurie, but I don’t think Laurie will be around much longer either.
WINNERS:
Designer: Edmund kinda snuck into the top tier but he is definitely included at this point.
Look: You know what? I love this. It’s whacky but it’s sleek and it makes a statement. It’s decidedly heroine chic, she could easily be a Dark Cloud Avenger. But a pop star or an ingenue looking for a little exposure could hit a premiere in this and make it work.
Designer: Kelly is so adorable. It was her first Broadway show and she was inspired by the experience as much as the musical.
Look: I love Kelly but I don’t get why this was placed over the two safe looks. It’s super costumey? Like she could go star in Wicked. I mean I love that and I love the throwback to old glamor idea but the judges seemed to like the fabric more than the design and I just don’t get how they placed this and Edmund’s above Swapnil’s and Merline’s when they didn’t seem to actually like either??
Designer: Candice was inspired by MY favourite part of the play: Captain Hook telling Barrie to embrace his darkness and make it work for him. We are simpatico.
Look: Absolutely the best by far. It’s clearly inspired by the play but it could be a part of any runway show. And I totally dig Lady Hook.
Candice was my favorite too. I do wonder if the judges will call her out for doing a lot of leather corsets – but the fabric choice and the funky sleeves and the subtle pirate-look are all amazeballs on this!
Re: Peter Pan fan – I am too. Have you read Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson? I really loved it, though it is problematic in its representation of Native Americans. I think it’s still worth a read though, as a Pan fanatic (Panatic?) – the characterization of Peter is awesome and there’s this whole missionary thing that is very interesting…and they do this gender-neutral thing w/the head of Tiger Lily’s tribe which is different too (though again, white lady writing native characters fail)…
Looking forward to your thoughts on the new Pan movie w/Hugh!