THE VERDICT: "Tink!" smacks of a sort of travel tour–"See Neverland and its Peoples!" All the tribes and fairies and pirates and so on (plus a few new additions for good measure) are on display, given a song or two, and staged for us and a young Tinkerbell to marvel at, while Tink herself finds her place among it all.
The only really odd bit, in my book, is that we don't get to know Tink as well as anyone else. No fault of the actress; the musical just seems more interested in everyone else. Even when Tink gets her own songs, they feel less vivid than others. But the sense of family-friendly adventure and whimsy is palpable, and as a fun all-ages romp, you can't ask for too much more.
Lena Gabrielle and Greg Kerestan's Lyrics are nimble and thoughtfully woven.
The only place that things start to feel overly childish are in the book scenes–there's just a hint of preciousness that isn't as acutely felt anywhere else in the production.
I don't really think that "Tink!" needs much more elbow grease to become a successful family-friendly musical. I think regional theaters should take a look, and they probably will as a result of NYMF. But for what it's worth, there is one thing that I think could make "Tink!" a little more magical.
As mentioned above, one thing I appreciated was that there was a sense of morality and thoughtfulness hidden underneath the whimsy–these moments are great lessons for kids about individuality, duty, calling out what's wrong and standing up for what's right.
But–this is a little intellectual, so bear with me here–I can't help but feel that Tinkerbell never really gets to be the agent of change and morality. Songs are often big declarations or investigations for subsets of people in Neverland, or people singing about Tinkerbell, or Tinkerbell singing with someone else who's trying to convince her of something. In a nutshell, we see Tinkerbell react and watch more than decide or take action. This isn't true across the board, but I was struck by how much of the show is about people who aren't her. (Y'know, despite the name of the show.) I wonder what it'd be like if she got to drive events a bit more, or if she did the saving instead of others saving her.