Review: PETER AND THE STARCATCHER Reinforces Belief in Magic

Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie's boy who never grew up, lived in Neverland: a mythic realm of magic and interminable youth that served as replacement for Victorian London, which provided orphans a hard, oft-despairing existence of labor and abuse. Peter Pan, a well-known chapter in the English-speaking literary canon, instills the wonder of magic into children (and reminds adults that the "unburdened freedoms" of childhood do involve making life-altering decisions that reap the burden of consequences). A century after Barrie's Peter Pan originally appeared on the London stage, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson wrote a prequel novel, Peter and the Starcatcher, which was then adapted for the stage by Rick Elice. Barrie's Neverland was a realm marked by dreamlike, enchanted properties never explained analytically, leaving the mysterious nature of the place to be determined by the imaginations of the audience (in fact, Barrie's original assertions allege that Neverland exists in the imaginations of children). Barry and Pearson's prequel, and Rick Elice's play, explore the indefinite, secret origins of Neverland and its inhabitants, giving context and tangible history to Peter Pan's magical realm. Like Barrie's Peter Pan, Peter and the Starcatcher is a whimsical story that infuses the exciting, magical elements of a fairy tale into the mundane world we recognize from outside of the theater. Peter and the Starcatcher reinforces themes of the belief in magical possibilities beyond reality as we see it.

Coming to the PCPA Festival Theatre this summer from August 21st-September 13th, Peter and the Starcatcher is an entertaining show for children and adults alike. Characters are slyly snarky, and frequently reference the meta-reality of the theater, which grounds the otherwise rampant magical realism of the play and keeps the adult audience intellectually invested. At the same time, the adventures of Peter and the Lost Boys, and the heroine they meet on their journey, junior starcatcher Molly Aster, will enchant younger viewers. The show is a sincere exploration of the young hero or heroine's journey. Molly (Jillian Osborne), who wants to follow in her father's footsteps and become a full-fledged starcatcher for the Queen, charges toward adulthood. On the other hand, Peter Pan (Cody Wittlinger) yearns for an unburdened childhood with a home and a family. He finds what he craves when the ship carrying the characters is wrecked, though the island, which he calls Neverland, and his community of Lost Boys are not what he'd imagined as a typical boyhood. Nevertheless, the magic of the "starstuff" (the supernatural substance the starcatchers harvest and guard) keeps Peter and the Lost Boys young; their journey ends with the opportunity to experience the youth they were deprived of as workhouse orphans. Yet we are reminded that childhood is never idyllic, even in Neverland: Molly and Peter experience the pain of separation when their disparate fortunes keep them apart--both are pushed into the momentum of their destinies, lives that were written for them a over century ago, lives that exists already in our cultural literary lore.

PCPA's Peter and the Starcatcher features an adept cast whose campy, physical antics keep the production entertaining for a young audience, and whose self-awareness and keen sense of sly humor keeps the story grounded for the adult audience. The future Captain Hook (Matt Keonig), called Black Stache in this era, is especially entertaining; his constant shtick with Smee (Michael Jenkinson) keeps a toe in the childlike humor and escape to fantasy that can be enjoyed most genuinely when we remember not to take ourselves too seriously. Peter and the Starcatcher balances the meaningfulness of self-discovery with an emphasis on the importance of preserving childlike playfulness and imagination.

Sure to be a popular show this summer during the theatre festival, Peter and the Starcatcher is a charming adventure with intelligent dialogue, amusing physical comedy, and a reinvention of Neverland that keeps the audience attentive to revelations that occur when characters' identities become recognizable as their counterparts from Peter Pan. The show is colorful and visually interesting; I especially enjoyed the creative use of ropes and rigging to create unexpected playing spaces. It's a physical show, and characters like Black Stache (Koenig) expend an impressive amount of energy jumping and falling about the stage to effective comedic result. Peter and the Starcatcher is a visual pageant with impressive stagecraft, and acting performances that are sharp and defined. Coming this summer to PCPA: Peter and the Starcatcher is a fun, well-executed production that shows the joys and trials of the hero's journey inevitable to us all: growing up.

PCPA Presents:
Peter and the Starcatcher
by Rick Elice
Directed by Brad Carroll

http://www.pcpa.org

August 21 - September 13
Solvang Festival Theater

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