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Candlelight Pavilion’s “Peter Pan”: Tweaking the Nose of Tradition, Done Well
Children who grew up when I did are divided into two camps: those who think the best “Peter Pan” is the Disney animated version, and those – like me – who know that the Mary Martin version is the “real” one. Of course, both are based on J.M Barrie’s original 1904 script for a British “panto”. The musical Martin brought to television after its triumph on Broadway used much of the original script, adding the music of Morris (Moose) Charlap with additions by Jule Styne, and the lyrics of Carolyn Leigh plus Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
Since then, all productions of this musical version, whether Sandy Duncan’s and, later, Cathy Rigby’s Broadway hits, or more local productions, have honored the panto format: that is, the tradition of having one character (in this case, Peter) played by a cross-dressing performer. In other words, in live theater Peter has always been played by a woman, the most convincingly boyish being former Olympic gymnast Rigby.
Now the folks at Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theater have decided to defy tradition, go literal, and have Peter be played by a male. Add to this the challenge, well met, of having people fly on a stage notably lacking the “flies” – the large space above a stage where rigging and set pieces can hang out of view – and one could not help but be curious. Besides, who doesn’t have moments of wanting to sing “I Won’t Grow Up”?
For the show to work, four characters (or three actors) have to be top-notch, and play their often deeply silly parts absolutely straight. Gavin Juckette makes an earnestly boyish Peter, with the serious sense of fun which makes the piece work, even if in defiance of tradition. Randy Ingram, in a practice which does keep to tradition, in the dual parts of Mr. Darling and Captain Hook gives each character individuality, but in both a delightfully overblown sense of self-importance.
In the somewhat treacherous role of “Indian Princess” Tiger Lily – always a cartoon, as it would be if made up by a prepubescent British boy – Amaris Griggs dances well, proves commanding, and by dealing with Peter as an equal squashes some of one’s disquiet over the role’s stereotypical underpinnings. Valerie Rose Lohman balances the budding-woman and little-girl-fantasy aspects of Wendy, with Andrew Bar as John and Asher Broberg as Michael doing a lovely job as the Darling children.
Add to all of this a delightful collection of lost boys, rather inept pirates (especially Thomas Stanley as Smee – always a personal favorite), and forest animals in an ensemble who bring Neverland to life, and you have a genuinely lovely time.
John LaLonde’s direction keeps the pace moving and the relationships between these fantasy characters engaging. He knows how to use the Candlelight space, using needed entrances and exits through the audience to scoop everyone into the spirit of the thing. Kirklyn Robinson’s choreography uses the comparatively small Candlelight stage particularly well, keeping the atmosphere and energy of the piece. Douglas Austin, as musical director, has given the ensemble a lovely blend.
Kudos also to Chuck Ketter for yet another set fitting a great deal into a small space. The lighting design by Aspen Rogers and Jonathan Daroca, including the character of Tinkerbell, make the piece work as it does.
If you have somehow never seen “Peter Pan,” this is a good one, even if a bit nontraditional. If you wish to introduce a new generation to the magic “Peter” has brought to the young for over 100 years, I’d go see this version, which comes with a lovely meal (including a kids menu). One warning: tickets are scarce. Get on a waiting list if you need to.
What: “Peter Pan” When: through August 17, doors open for dinner 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 5 p.m. Sundays, and for lunch matinees 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Where: Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theater, 455 W. Foothill Blvd. in Claremont How Much: $63 – $78 adult, $30 – $35 children 12 and under, meal inclusive. Info: (909) 626-1254 ext. 1 or www.thecpdt.com
A New Place Where Dreams Are Born? “Peter and the Starcatcher” flies into the Ahmanson
Joey deBettencourt and Megan Stern as Peter and Molly [photo: Jenny Anderson}
Sometimes when one mixes authors and genres to produce something for the stage it can look just like that sounds: a hodgepodge. On the other hand, sometimes the result is much more than the sum of its parts.
One way or another, that can be said of “Peter and the Starcatcher,” now at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Playwright Rick Elice has taken a children’s book and a children’s story and smashed them together into a play which, though fanciful, is not really for children. Directors Roger Rees and Alex Timbers have taken that play and staged it in a mash-up of English panto, Monty Python-esque British humor, and story theater. The results are funny, charming, clever and wistful.
The base of the plot is the book of the same name by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, which provides a prequel to “Peter Pan”. To this has been added significant nods to J.M. Barrie’s famed original tale of Peter.
It concerns the trials of Lord Aster, an English ambassador, and his daughter Molly. He is sent to the island of Rangoon with a chest of the Queen’s treasure. Molly and her governess are sent on a different ship, by a different route, to the same destination with a similar chest. On that second ship are a group of orphans destined for slave labor in Rangoon, led by a nameless boy who eventually names himself Peter. There are pirates and danger and magic galore, an island, a crocodile, and all the explanations needed for how Lost Boys ended up in Neverland.
All of this is told as story theater tells things: minimal set, a few props adapted over and over to become places, tools and dramatic effects, and a cast which – for the most part – covers a host of differing characters in the telling of the tale. It’s a hoot – silly, clever and just a bit bizarre. At least one women’s part is played by a man, in true panto format. Everything has a slightly salacious undertone and its tongue stuck firmly in its cheek, all of which adds to the comedy.
![John Sanders exults as Black Stache [photo: Jenny Anderson]](https://stagestruckreview.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/peter2.jpg)
John Sanders exults as Black Stache [photo: Jenny Anderson]
Of course, for all of this to work one must have a versatile and able cast, and this production definitely does. Among a well-tuned ensemble, standouts include Joey deBettencourt as the boy who will be Peter, Megan Stern as the direct and logical Molly, John Sanders having oversized fun in a Groucho Marx mustache as Black Stache the pirate, and Benjamin Schrader delightfully outrageous as the nanny Mrs. Bumbrake. Also particularly fine are Nathan Hosner’s turn as the disciplined British diplomat Aster and Lee Zarrett as Fighting Prawn, the ruler of the island they encounter.
Still, it is the style and the staging which make the show. Nearly everything in Donyale Werle’s set and among Paloma Young’s costumes are repurposed articles, helped and celebrated by Broadway Green Alliance, and one reason the show won Tonys for them both. This use of recycling meets an impressive, and belly laugh-inducing height during the mermaid sequence which begins the second act, and in the entire sequence with the crocodile. That creature’s “image” must be seen to be believed.
Again, it must be said that this show is not for kids, at least younger or less sophisticated ones. Also it must be approached in the appropriate spirit. It was sad to see people leave at intermission (before some of the funniest bits) because it was too silly or too hard to follow. This show’s unabashed ridiculousness is the same kind of humor which has endeared Monty Python to generations, and turned English panto into a national treasure. You must come with that sense, and with a willingness to suspend all disbelief, to have the fun everyone should have at this production.
“Peter and the Starcatcher” won five Tonys for a reason. It does what it does very well indeed. So come for a laugh, and a lighthearted new view of the Peter Pan most have known since childhood. As long as you expect the unexpected, and are willing to play along, you’ll have a unique, and uniquely refreshing holiday treat.
What: “Peter Pan” When: through January 12, 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sundays, with added performances at 8 p.m. Monday December 23 and 30, and 2 p.m. December 26 and January 2. Where: The Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave. in downtown Los Angeles How Much: $20 – $110 Info: (213) 972-4400 or http://www.CenterTheatreGroup.org
Returning to the Place Dreams are Born: Cathy Rigby takes off once again as “Peter Pan”
by Frances Baum Nicholson
I can remember the first time I saw Cathy Rigby as “Peter Pan,” back in the early 90s. Although the miracle of television had ingrained Mary Martin’s version in my mind as a child, Rigby brought something new. A former gymnast, she truly knew how to move like a boy. She could sing well enough to carry all those memorable songs, and it worked. Not surprisingly she was nominated for a Tony for the part in 1991.
Now Rigby has returned to the part, as she has several times in between. Currently at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, she still has the moves, swooping about on a rig far more sophisticated than Martin’s original, and she can dance and horse about with boyish enthusiasm. Age only shows in her singing voice, compensated for on a few occasions by turning solos into duets.
By now everyone knows the story, right? Rigby plays Peter Pan, the boy who won’t grow up. He descends upon the Victorian nursery of the Darling family, and takes their three children back to his home in Neverland, particularly Wendy to be a mother to “the lost boys.” On his island packed with adventure, the three children and Peter contend with Indians, mermaids, and pirates. All the while, Mr. and Mrs. Darling and their dog-nanny Nana wait, hoping for their children’s eventual return.
The production around Rigby proves first-rate. Brent Barrett makes a terrific Captain Hook. Jenna Wright proves impressive as the dancing Indian princess Tiger Lily. James Leo Ryan has a ball with the obsequious first mate, Mr. Smee, and Krista Buccellato, Cade Canon Ball and Julia Massey make delightful and animated work of the Darling children Peter whisks away. Glenn Casale’s direction is tight and often funny. Patti Colombo’s elaborate, exhausting dance numbers are handled with amazing ease by a very talented ensemble.
In other words, it all works. Well paced and very active, it captures an audience, young or old, from start to finish. Even the applause necessary for Tinker Bell’s return (a rather better Tinker Bell than many productions) is instant and heartfelt. Rigby’s boyish mugging proves engaging too, and brings a necessary childlike quality to it all.
Indeed, the only rough spots have appeared at the hands of the stage crew, which had some very amateurish moments, at least on the press opening: pulling the wrong cord on the various curtains and drops more than once, and becoming startlingly noisy backstage during the very last, gentle and intimate scene – a scene upon which they dropped the final curtain too soon.
The only other questionable item, as mentioned before, proves to be Rigby’s voice: roughly boyish when speaking, but equally rough when trying to sing the show’s comparatively lyrical musical numbers. In comparison with Buccallato’s Wendy and Kim Crosby’s Mrs. Darling, whose equally lyrical moments prove comparatively lilting, it becomes an issue on occasion. For now much can be covered by making musical adjustments, but it is a troubling sign.
Still, this is the “Peter Pan” to take your kids, or your grandkids to. Colorful, action-packed, funny and touching by turns, it has all the elements which have captivated children all the way back to J.M. Barrie’s original. For the rest of us there is always something alluring in the idea of being able to stay childlike forever, and the grown-up Wendy’s admission “I can’t go with you Peter. I’m ever so much more than 20,” can still elicit a momentary sigh.
What: “Peter Pan” When: Through June 24, 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, wiht 2 p.m. matinees Saturday and Sunday Where: La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd. in La Mirada How Much: $35 – $50 Info: (562) 944-9801 or (714) 994-6310 or http://www.lamiradatheatre.com
