Michael Riedel

Michael Riedel

Theater

Another actor walks the plank in Harvey Weinstein’s ‘Neverland’

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Poor old Roger Bart was forced to walk the plank last week on “Finding Neverland,” the new musical about J.M. Barrie and the creation of “Peter Pan” that’s sailing to Broadway under the command of Capt. Harvey Weinstein.

Bart took the plunge into the shark-infested waters of the Weinstein Company after clashing with Captain Harvey’s second-in-command, director Diane Paulus, henceforth to be known in this column as Smee.

Bart, an excellent comic actor with a Tony (“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”) to prove it, was playing Charles Frohman, the American producer who presented the first stage adaptation of “Peter Pan” in London in 1904, and then in New York in 1905.

After a table reading of “Finding Neverland” the other week, “Smee” Paulus encouraged her fellow shipmates to talk about the show, which has been revised extensively since it opened in Leicester, England, in 2012.

Bart spoke up, offering what one source calls “candid and astute” criticisms.

He was overboard the next day.

His execution prompted a near-mutiny among some cast members, who feared they, too, would be forced to walk the plank if they spoke their minds.

Smee tried to quell the revolt, saying she welcomed “open dialogue” — but that Bart had overstepped the boundaries.

He’s been replaced by Michael McGrath, who won a Tony for “Nice Work if You Can Get It.”

“Finding Neverland” begins previews July 23 at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., where Smee is artistic director.

Captain Harvey plans to bring the show to Broadway this season, though he’s still hunting for a theater.

The journey, so far, has been treacherous.

The original writers — Scott Frankel, Michael Korie and Allan Knee — walked the plank in 2013.

They were replaced by playwright James Graham, who wrote the terrific “The House” for the National Theatre in London, and Gary Barlow, a British songwriter and pop singer.

Rob Ashford, the original director, voluntarily jumped ship. His last words were: “scheduling conflicts.”

I have a feeling we’re going to have some fun with “Finding Neverland.”

I’ll be swimming in its wake, playing Crocodile to Captain Harvey.

Ticktock, ticktock!