No question about it, we live in high stress times.   It does not matter who we are or where we live or our age or income level, we all have pressure points pulling at us, from work, from family, or perhaps news headlines from around the world. At the end of a long day, we may not want to leave the comfort of home and go to the theater. But, I submit to you…that is exactly what we should do.

I entered the Majestic Theater this week at the end of such a day which makes one want to have a glass of wine and go to bed. However, my husband encouraged me to go see Finding Neverland, despite my Eeyore-like attitude. “Alright, let’s go.”

Other than the fact obviously this had something to do with Peter Pan, I was not familiar with the story.   But, Finding Neverland, inspires all of us to keep the child inside alive. Billy Harrigan Tighe plays beautifully the role of author, James Matthew Barrie, along with a rich and captivating singing voice.   So many of us can identify with the character who has lost his passion for work, and is in need of inspiration and joy. Just like many today, this man in the 1800s, needed to be reminded of why he began to write at all and the audience feels the struggle inside.  Enter four young boys and their mother, who will remind him of the joy in imagination and creativity and will also remind him of the ultimate hope in a place called Neverland.

So many brilliant works of art have come from individuals who at one time or another were said to be out of their minds. The play gives understanding of the creative process as we watch each stage of this man’s development into a new world of storytelling.

I was particularly touched with the scene where Barrie hands young Peter a tablet of blank pages and tells him to write. About what?

J.M. Barrie: Write about your family, Write about the talking Whale.

Peter Llewelyn Davies: What Whale?

J.M. Barrie: The one that is trapped in your imagination, desperate to get out.

For generations, we have been entertained by the young boys, the pirate, the alligator, the children, and the twinkling fairy who were all trapped inside of Barrie. Such great advice from a writer.

At the end of the production, I was laughing inside. For a moment in time, all stress was left behind and there was new inspiration for a new day. Finding Neverland reminds us all that difficulties in life are real and are tough, but we can always look for inspiration to find new direction around us.

Thank you to the cast for a job well done! I am glad I went to the theater and not back to bed, to just get up a day older…see the play and you will know what that means!

By Pamela Lutrell
San Antonio Woman Editor