Christian Borle, Adam Chanler-Berat, Celia Keenan-Bolger to Return for Broadway's PETER AND THE STARCATCHER

The producers of Peter and the Starcatcher, a new play by Tony® Award-nominee Rick Elice (Jersey Boys), just announced that the cast of the acclaimed Off-Broadway production will reunite for the show's Broadway Premiere. Christian Borle, a Lucille Lortel winner last year for his performance (and star of NBC's "Smash"), will return as 'Black Stache'; Adam Chanler-Berat (Next to Normal), who recently departed the Off Broadway production of Rent, returns as 'Boy'; and Drama Desk Award-winner Celia Keenan-Bolger (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) will reprise her role as 'Molly,' the titular Starcatcher. Returning cast members also include Teddy Bergman (Seven Minutes in Heaven), Arnie Burton (The 39 Steps), Matt D'Amico (Fizz), Kevin Del Aguila (Jacques Brel...), Carson Elrod (Reckless), Greg Hildreth (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) and David Rossmer (Don't Quit Your Night Job).

"We are overjoyed to have this incredible company back together," said producers Nancy Nagel Gibbs and Greg Schaffert. "And we are very grateful that Christian Borle was, in the end, able to work around his commitments to the TV series "Smash" so that he can reprise his role as 'Black Stache.'"

In this innovative and imaginative new play, based on The New York Times best selling Disney-Hyperion novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, a company of twelve actors plays more than a hundred unforgettable characters, all on a journey to answer the century-old question: How did Peter Pan become The Boy Who Never Grew Up? This epic origin story of one of popular culture's most enduring and beloved characters proves that an audience's imagination can be the most captivating place in the world.

Peter and the Starcatcher, which is co-directed by Tony® Award-winner Roger Rees (Nicholas Nickleby) and Tony® Award-nominee Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Pee-Wee Herman Show), begins previews on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 West 47th Street) on Wednesday, March 28, with an official opening night set for Sunday, April 15, 2012.

Producers also announced a "priority pre-sale" ticket pricing structure. All tickets for Peter and the Starcatcher performances through April 29th are $99 (orchestra and front mezzanine) and $59 (rear mezzanine), when purchased by the first preview on March 28th. Tickets are currently available via Ticketmaster.com. The Brooks Atkinson Theatre box office will open February 20th. For more information on group offers, call 877-321-0020 or email petergroups@321mgt.com.

As previously announced, the entire creative team reunites for the Broadway production of Peter and the Starcatcher and includes: Wayne Barker (Music), Steven Hoggett (Movement), Marco Paguia (Music Direction), Donyale Werle (Scenic Design), Paloma Young (Costume Design), Jeff Croiter (Lighting Design) and Darron L. West (Sound Design).

Peter and the Starcatcher will be produced on Broadway by Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert, Eva Price, Tom Smedes and Disney Theatrical Productions.

Peter and the Starcatcher opened to rave reviews last March in its premiere Off Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop and quickly became the theatrical event of the season. In The New York Times, Ben Brantley enthused: "I truly felt I was floating. Peter and the Starcatcher sustains a breathless air of adventure and a cocky confidence in its powers to enchant. With grown-up theatrical savvy and a child's wonder, Peter and the Starcatcher floats right through the ceiling of the physical limits imposed by a three-dimensional stage. While there's not a body harness in sight, this show never stops flying."

The sold-out run was extended by popular demand and set a record for the highest grossing single day in NYTW's history. The production went on to receive five Drama Desk nominations (and a win for Outstanding Music in a Play); two Obie Awards (for Direction and Design), two Lucille Lortel Awards (for Outstanding Lead Actor and Outstanding Choreography) and a Henry Hewes Design Award for Best Lighting.

The show began its journey to the stage in 2003 when Disney Theatrical Productions president Thomas Schumacher discovered the first Barry and Pearson book while it was still in galleys, and its development has been shepherded by DTP ever since. With just a few scenes outlined, the project received its first lab in 2007 at Williamstown Theatre Festival under the direction of Rees and Timbers. A full length version of the play was then written by Elice and developed in a Page to Stage production at La Jolla Playhouse in the winter of 2009. Following further revisions, the play received its first fully staged production with the spring 2011 run at NYTW.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos