Review: PETER PAN at Hollywood Pantages Theatre

In attempting to reinvent Peter Pan for a modern audience, NETworks Presentations has embraced a major challenge. On the one hand, they have a gem. Jerome Robbins’ original production was packed with humor, heart, and adventures that captivated generations of audiences, not to mention a beautifully dynamic score by Morris ‘Moose’ Charlap and decidedly beloved source material by Sir J.M. Barrie. On the other hand, the show contains material so ignorant and dated that contemporary productions (even with the best of intentions) can be difficult to stomach. Quick Band-Aid fixes have failed to address the core insensitivities of the libretto and it has been clear for some time that a majorly imaginative overhaul would be needed to salvage this piece for future performance.

In writing additional material for the piece, Larissa FastHorse went right for the heart of the problems. Instead of maintaining Tiger Lily and her tribe as inhuman figures of fantasy akin to fairies or mermaids, she has envisioned them as the sole survivors of obliterated tribes from history. They express that they have asked permission of the island to make this place their temporary home and engage with the Lost Boys and Pirates as fully fleshed-out characters, with flaws, ambitions, and purposes outside of shooting arrows and wreaking havoc. Additionally, Fasthorse has taken care to define the feminine characters in the piece outside of their relationships to Peter. Significantly, we see Tiger Lily, Wendy, and Tinker Bell engage in a scene alone on stage in which Wendy and Tiger Lily first commiserate about Peter and then take active roles in protecting each other from the approaching Pirates. There are countless tweaks throughout the script which posit Wendy and Tiger Lily as capable, consenting, and self-sufficient characters (whether Peter is able to acknowledge that or not). By setting the action in the present day, Fasthorse sidesteps any criticisms of writing contemporary mentalities into a period piece, however, she delicately maintains the charm of the tale, and mentions of TikTok challenges and smearing fingerprints on printers never quite pierce the veneer of Neverland.

As Peter, 17 year old Nolan Almeida is earnest and uninhibited, delivering his performance with a wry half-smirk that evokes the boy J.M. Barrie once described as though he were processed through a TikTok filter. Pan-purists who would prefer to see a woman in the role will be immediately won over by Almeida’s charismatic clownishness and endearing fervor. Hawa Kamara’s Wendy is strong-willed without becoming unsympathetic and seems equally at home swinging a sword in any of Rick Sordelet and Christian Kelly-Sordelet’s cleverly staged battles or tenderly cooing ‘Distant Melody’ to her Young Brothers. As Captain Hook, Cody Garcia commands the company with a strong presence and deliciously decadent vocal prowess.

Tinker Bell, as designed by Paul Kieve, is a bonafide showstopper, eliciting audible responses from the audience upon her first appearance. Her comedy is amplified by the clever staging that brings her to life, and I’m certain that little attention-seeker would be delighted to know the minute the lights came up for intermission, the orchestra section was awash with conversations about ‘how did they do that?’ Likewise, while David Bengali’s projection design traipsed into overwhelming and overstimulating excess, it was executed to perfect effect for Peter’s shadow and the initial flight to Neverland. In these instances, the team behind this show has perfectly epitomized a Peter Pan for the twenty-first century, fusing new technology with old-fashioned theatre magic in ways that spark the imagination.

In the hands of director Lonny Price, the vaudevillian sensibility of the comedy soars. However, at times, Price has coached jokes to be so drawn out that they become muddied, and the runtime of the show suffers from some superfluous nonsense. Uninspired choreography which crowds the limited stage space makes extended dance breaks feel even longer, and this production could have afforded to cut a few verses from songs, as the length of the show had little ones squirming in their seats. The Pirates, an ensemble presented with such specific and varied histrionics that it becomes entirely unclear what the artistic vision was for them, have a new reprise of ‘I Want Grow Up’ called ‘We Hate those Kids’ which casts us off into the (already Pirate-heavy) second act with choppy waters. Has anyone ever really asked for further clarity on the Pirates motivations? But overall, the team lands the jokes (especially those cheesy ones from the original script) to riotous laughter which adds heartwarming charm to the entire evening.

In the end, NETworks Presentations has delivered a joyous Peter Pan that is certain to continue delighting audiences as it tours the country. It may skew a bit too close to theme park entertainment to be recommended for unaccompanied grown-ups, but there is nothing wrong in my mind with a Peter Pan that captivates children and invites them to a lifelong relationship with theatre. Seeing Cathy Rigby on a national tour with this show when I was little has a lot to do with my love of theatre, and my hope for this production is that it activates imaginations for the next generation. After all, is there a nobler goal for a children’s theatre piece to undertake?