'Finding Neverland' musical flounders at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre

There's no denying the impressive talents assembled to create and perform “Finding Neverland,” a much-revamped 2015 musical adaptation of the acclaimed 2004 Miramax film. Now making its touring debut at Chicago's Cadillac Palace Theatre, this “Peter Pan” origin story clearly wants to inspire awe. But it is bafflement at the creative team's questionable choices that ultimately emerges.

“Finding Neverland” explores the relationship that developed between married playwright J.M. Barrie (Kevin Kern) and the sickly widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Christine Dwyer) in early 1900s London. Struggling to find a new idea for demanding theatrical producer Charles Frohman (Tom Hewitt), Barrie finds the inspiration to write “Peter Pan” by spending time with Sylvia and her four playful sons (alternately played with ample cuteness by the six child actors Jordan Cole, Finn Faulconer, Tyler Patric Hennessy, Ben Krieger, Eli Tokash and Mitchell Wray).

What's confusing about “Finding Neverland” is its inability to find a consistent emotional or storytelling tone. One moment, director Diane Paulus steers the supporting cast to be so over-the-top with cartoonish British snootiness, it's like they're escapees from a door-slamming British sex farce. Later on, when Barrie pleads for unfettered child's play to help Sylvia's eldest son emotionally heal from his father's death, it feels like a different show.

James Graham's low-stakes script lacks much drive to fuel any tension or emotional empathy, while songwriters Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy's rudimentary pop-styled score doesn't match up with the story's Edwardian-era setting. The songs more often sound like generic feelings heard in Top 40 hits rather than theatrical numbers written to build character or advance the story.

Along with Paulus' inconsistent staging, Mia Michaels' rambunctious choreography for big production numbers like “Play” also feels forced. Too much movement bursts forth all at once rather than being motivated by the characters.

The performers of “Finding Neverland” are all accomplished and try to find ways to overcome this less-than-best material. Kern especially gets to show off a powerful singing voice as Barrie, while Hewitt makes the most of Frohman's comical contrariness and Captain Hook's dark mind games. But even then the performers get upstaged by Jon Driscoll's distracting 3-D computer-animated projection designs of churning clock gears, spinning carousels and bird's-eye views of London landmarks.

“Finding Neverland” should easily satisfy audiences who like cute kids, dogs, plush period costumes, wowing stage effects and obvious efforts to tug at their heartstrings. But for anyone familiar with the earnest emotion of the original film, all of the musical's inconsistent and aggressive pushes to produce wonderment will feel phony instead.