Certainly since the original appearance of J.M. Barrie’s play, Peter Pan in 1904, and his later novel, Peter And Wendy of 1911, there has been a certain magic felt across the land by the young of heart in every age group. Being a man of a certain age, my first experience with the magic was a televised broadcast of the Broadway presentation starring Mary Martin. Yes, it did make a lasting impression on me and I was excited to see how the artists and young actors of First Stage would bring that magic to life once again.
Working from an adaptation by Doug Rand, First Stage Artistic Director Jeff Frank directs his own theatre for young audiences adaptation. Frank has rediscovered and reveled in all of the magic found in Peter Pan. All of the magic! The whole story is here, from Wendy and Nana and the great window in the nursery, to a flying boy in Peter Pan, to the Lost Boys, to Captain Hook and Smee, and the crocodile and the clock….and Tinker Bell of course (or Tinkerbell? I have found it both ways but for a real fairy I’d have named her Tinkerbelle).
First Stage presentations for young audiences can often be hard to describe because they are anchored by a number of adult actors but feature two rotating casts of young actors. Peter Pan And Wendy is no different, featuring a Shadow Cast and Light Cast of actors. So if you are interested in seeing a particular youngster on stage, make sure you know which cast they are in and select a date and time appropriately.
First Stage presentations at the Todd Wehr Theater in the Marcus Performing Arts Center are often big cast musicals…Peter Pan And Wendy isn’t a musical but it is a BIG cast. But don’t be fooled about not being a musical. Peter Pan And Wendy is still a rowdy boisterous bit of theater that kept all of the young audience completely entranced. So much so that their laughter and gasps and sidebars sometimes interfered with me hearing the dialogue on stage…but that’s one of the highlights of attending plays at First Stage: seeing the reactions of the youngsters in the audience. Rest assured that this play satisfies!
Now, on to the adult actors. Todd Denning is a regular at First Stage but you probably remember seeing him most recently as the Ghost of Christmas Present at the Milwaukee Rep. For Peter Pan And Wendy he handles two roles…first the loving but maybe just a bit ditzy father of Wendy and John and Michael Darling. Denning’s befuddlement around tying his tie in the opening scenes and leading the way to the drawing room while wondering if the Darlings have a drawing room in the finale. But more importantly is his portrayal of…dah dah dum dum…CAPTAIN HOOK! Oh Denning can be as sinister as need be and leads his pirates by dint of force and personality only to instantly cower at the sound of a ticking clock and the possibility of being attacked by THE crocodile. Tori Watson is Mrs. Darling, and is the perfect elegant and doting mother at first but turns equally fretful when describing her first encounter with Peter Pan…and Watson easily takes on the mourning mother when her children go missing and finally the restored mother who eagerly adopts the Lost Boys and instantly works to help a clearly conflicted Peter Pan.
And our pirates, Tim Linn, Sherrick Robinson, David Flores, and J.T. Backes are jolly rogers all. A great team dedicated to protecting their captain and swashbuckling to the nines! David Flores as Smee is a bit of comic relief that suits Flores instinctively and suits the pirates presence just as well.
The two most important characters of course are those in the title of the play, Peter Pan and Wendy. Frank’s adaptation perfectly exhibits Peter’s determination to remain young and have fun which of course appeals to Wendy’s sense of adventure. But there is a bit more to their relationship than that. Wendy senses it but Peter, like many young men, doesn’t really know what is happening and doesn’t respond as Wendy expects. From my note above, there are two casts of young actors. I saw the Shadow Cast and Marko Van Slyke as Peter Pan and Niamh Mayne as Wendy were amazing. Overall the blocking and choreography for such a large cast (there are nine lost boys plus Peter, Wendy, and her two brothers) and a moving set was fluid and riveting and you just can’t seem to take it all in at once, but somehow you do.
SPOILER ALERT: We saved Tinker Bell
But there is more magic here than just the story of Peter Pan. There is First Stage magic. As always First Stage lighting designers and set designers put together these amazing designs that seem so simple at first but are so deeply ingrained in the story telling that they are almost a character in their own right. And for Peter Pan And Wendy it was no different…as we had the nursery and its great window and Neverland and the pirate ship and and and. So thank you to Sarah Hunt-Frank, Nicki Kulas, Jason Fassi, Josh Schmidt (sound designer), and Jason Orlenko (costume designer)!
And let’s talk about Nicki Kulas again. First Stage productions often feature mythical creatures or natural creatures that can’t necessarily be portrayed on stage, so they use PUPPETS: magical, phantastical, puppets! In this case, a bit of a shaggy sheepdog, the children’s nursemaid Nana, the ever lurking and very creepy crocodile, and two iterations of Tinker Bell. One little lacy bit of green light that flits around the action and a bit larger version that at times lands on a shoulder or chair back and has the semblance of a fairy rather than just a bit of flashing light. How they all work is in the next paragraph.
And let’s not overlook that Peter Pan can fly, and Peter teaches Wendy, John, and Michael how to fly. The primary key to being able to participate in all of the other adventures. And fly they do but without wires. Inspired by Japanese theater, Frank has employed the use of koken in Peter Pan And Wendy. Koken are black clad characters who appear on stage unnoticed by the actors. In this adaptation, the koken lift the young actors portraying Peter and Wendy and let them ‘fly’. They also work the puppets representing Tinker Bell, Nana, and the crocodile. And yes you notice them but you don’t…I can’t quite explain the effect, but it quite simply works.
Ooooh. I almost forgot. There is always a brief talk back after the curtain when young theater goers can ask a question of the cast. My favorite this time was some young man who wanted to know where they found the crocodile. After some giggles, a cast member described the puppet and how it was made by the puppet master!
Beyond the main story, all of the subplots are here. The desire for eternal youth, the desire for freedom from authority, the desire for family and structure, and the desire for a sense of purpose all prevail.
Peter Pan And Wendy continues through March 22, 2006 at the Todd Wehr Theater in the Marcus Performing Arts Center. Run time is about 75 minutes plus a 15 minute intermission. Recommended for families with young people ages 6-14 and magical dreamers of all ages.
More information and tickets can be found here.
Extra Credit Reading: Enrichment Guide