Milwaukee Rep Closes Season with PETER AND THE STARCATCHER This Week

Milwaukee Repertory Theater concludes its 2014/15 Quadracci Powerhouse Season with the charming, Tony Award-winning play Peter and the Starcatcher, the show The New York Times described as, "the most exhilarating Broadway storytelling in decades!" Based on the bestselling novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson and written by Rick Elice with music by Wayne Barker, Peter and the Starcatcher is the joyous prequel to the beloved story of Peter Pan. An epic origin story that is both hilarious and inspiring - Peter and the Starcatcher has touched the hearts of young and old as it lets their imaginations fly. This family-friendly play comes just in time for spring and runs tonight, April 21 - May 24, 2015 in Milwaukee Repertory Theater's Quadracci Powerhouse and opens on Friday, April 24.

Directed by Blake Robison, now in his third season as Artistic Director of Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, the cast for Peter and the Starcatcher includes: Clinton Brandhagen, Ollie Corchado, Jamal Crowelle, Joanna Howard, Sean Mellott, Andy Paterson, José Restrepo, Arturo Soria, Tom Story, Nick Vannoy, and Noah Zachary, all making their Rep debuts and Andrew Carlyle, a member of The Rep's Artistic Intern Ensemble. Peter and the Starcatcher is a co-production with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Join a swashbuckling, mad-cap adventure aboard the good ship Neverland! Before Peter was Pan, he was just an orphan who didn't like grown ups. But his future changes forever when the lost boy boards a pirate ship, and we're whisked away on a breathtaking adventure to answer the question: how did a boy named Peter become The Boy Who Never Grew Up? Fun for the whole family, the five-time Tony Award-winning show features a dozen actors playing more than 100 unforgettable characters. This innovative, hilarious, and imaginative prequel to Peter Pan will have you HOOKed the moment you let your imagination take flight. (Recommended for ages eight and up.)

"Peter and the Starcatcher is an innately theatrical experience - it's very inventive yet it also has an endearing simplicity," said Artistic Director Mark Clements. "I liken it to Winnie the Pooh. To children, Winnie the Pooh is a very cute character. But for adults, it takes on a deeper philosophical point of view. Peter and the Starcatcher is like that too. When I've seen it, audiences have absolutely loved it. They come out laughing, or maybe a little teary-eyed. Families leave the theater just beaming."

Added Director Blake Robison, "Peter and the Starcatcher celebrates the art of theatrical storytelling. It's an ensemble piece, narrated by the Entire company, in which places and effects spring to life before your eyes through simple and evocative staging and props. A sense of joy and wonder permeates the play. Scenically, we've created a simple, open space in which the actors can play. There's a bare stage, a big curtain, a ladder, and some trunks. From these few items, we make magic. Through the power of language and the manipulation of stage props, the stage becomes a ship, a dungeon, the ocean, or an island. It's a giant theatrical playground."

The Executive Producers for Milwaukee Repertory Theater's production of Peter and the Starcatcher are Greg and Rhonda Oberland. The Associate Producers are Bladen and Julia Burns. The Quadracci Powerhouse Season is sponsored by H. Richard Quadracci Ewens and Emilio Cabrera in memory of Harry and Betty Quadracci.

Tickets for Peter and the Starcatcher begin at $20.00. Single tickets for all of Milwaukee Repertory Theater's 2014/15 season productions are currently on sale and can be purchased online at www.MilwaukeeRep.com, by calling 414-224-9490, or in person at 108 E. Wells Street. Group tickets are also available by calling Group Sales Coordinator Morgan Halverson at 414-290-5340.

To learn more about The Rep or its productions, please visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com.

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