Alex Timbers Reflects on His STARCATCHER Days with Roger Rees

It was just weeks ago that Broadway mourned the loss of Roger Rees, who passed away at age 71. Director Alex Timbers, who collaborated with Rees on Peter and the Starcatcher, recently wrote about the beloved star in American Theatre. Check out an excerpt below:

One of my favorite memories of Roger was when we were preparing to do Peter on Broadway and Roger wanted to take the cast on a field trip to an actual ship to get a sense of the scale of a real sailing vessel, and perhaps what it might be like to be aboard one in a storm: what the planks might feel like, what a mizzenmast really was. Also, it would be a hoot.

So he pushed for it. And, probably as surprisingly to him as to the rest of us, he got his wish. One day in February, the producers organized vans and the entire cast and design team went down to South Street Seaport; we boarded the Peking and walked around. We walked on the planks and looked at the mizzenmast, laughed and had a great time imagining the whole play, as it might have happened in real life.

That passion for the communal experience, and for the group of young artists who might one day look after another "next generation" of actors and directors, were what defined Roger Rees to me.

Click here to read his full piece.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos