Photo Flash: Opening Night Of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER At EPIC Players Inclusion Company

EPIC Players Inclusion Company's neuro-inclusive adaptation of Peter and the Starcatcher by Rick Elice, opened to a sold-out audience on December 6. Writer Ridley Pearson who co-wrote the book with Dave Barry was in attendance. The production runs through December 15 at HERE's mainstage in SoHo.

The creative team at EPIC, a neuro-inclusive theater company, helms this production where they continue to use the stage to elevate the talented voices of artists living with neuro-diversities such as autism. Featuring over a dozen actors portraying more than 100 unforgettable characters, this Peter and the Starcatcher shows the limitless possibilities of imagination and the power of inclusion that can bring a story to life. Associate Artistic Director Travis Burbee, directs.

Tony Award-winning Peter and the Starcatcher upends the century-old story of how a young orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed and despair; along with discovering who you are and the bonds of friendship and love.

When an orphan and his friends are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island, they know nothing of the mysterious trunk in the captain's cabin, which contains a precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the orphans are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training, who realizes that the trunk's precious cargo is a magical substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. When the ship is taken over by pirates - led by the fearsome Black Stache - the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure for our unlikely heroes.

The cast features Nick Amodio (A Night of Too Many Stars hosted by Jon Stewart), Jordan Boyatt (EPIC Cabaret/Joe's Pub), Miles Butler (A Midsummer Night's Dream/Boomerang Theatre), Whitney Blythe (Little Shop of Horrors/EPIC), Samantha Elisofon (Keep the Change/Tribeca Film Festival), Kylie Hogrefe (EPIC Cabaret/Joe's Pub & Lincoln Center), Preston Burger (Night of 1000 Stevies), Anton Spivack (The Little Prince/EPIC), Max Baudsich (The Tempest/EPIC), Gianluca Cirafici (Little Shop of Horrors/EPIC), Dante Jayce (The Owl Girl/THML Theater), Harrison Gottfried (EPIC Players Underground), Zach Lichterman (Keep the Change/Tribeca Film Festival), Jesus Chevez (The Little Prince/EPIC), Amaker Smith (Priscilla Queen of the Desert/Broadway), Andrew Kader (You're a Good Man Charlie Brown/EPIC) and Gideon Pianko (Little Shop of Horrors/EPIC).

The creative team includes music direction/keyboard by Joshua Coyne, percussion by Larry Spivack, scenic design by Matthew Imhoff, lighting design by Zach Weeks, costume design by Catherine Fisher, costume assistant Kim Carter, sound design by Megan Culley, properties design by Wells Thorne, assistant director Lauren Callen, stage management by Michael Fernandez-Fortna, assistant stage managers Carol Hoverman and Ari Sloan. The production team includes Executive Artistic Director Aubrie Therrien and Director of Operations Talia Eapen.

Tickets are $25 (general), $55 (VIP), and are available at www.here.org/shows/peter-and-the-starcatcher. Running time: 90 minutes, plus intermission. Recommended for all ages.

Performances take place at HERE, 145 6th Avenue (between Dominick & Spring Street), New York City, NY 10013. Subways: C/E to Spring Street, 1 to Houston, N/R to Prince Street.

This production is a part of SubletSeries@HERE: a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support.

More info is available at www.epicplayersnyc.org.