Review: Peter and the Starcatcher (Broadway in Chicago)

  
  
Peter and the Starcatcher

Written by Rick Elice
Directed by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers
Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe (map)
thru April 13  |  tickets: $18-$85   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
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You’ll be smiling all the way to Neverland…

Broadway in Chicago presents

Peter and the Starcatcher

Review by John Olson

Being that the monstrously successful musical prequel to The Wizard of Oz opened the year before the publishing of the novel upon which this play is based, we probably can’t cynically charge the creators of Peter and the Starcatcher with greediness in constructing a prequel to another family classic. And why should we, given how much fun it is to learn how Peter Pan came by his name and his eternal youth, how Tinkerbell came to be, how Hook lost his right hand and how Peter happened to choose the Darlings’s home out of all the millions of houses in London. Word is that the Disney organization (who published the novel “Peter and the Starcatchers” as well as its sequels) is doing a movie version. In the meantime, we have this play with music (though not a musical) which is no scenic or special effects blockbuster (Peter doesn’t even fly), but offers lots of theatrical magic through the creativity of its performers and the simple imagination of its staging by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers. It’s a great story in its own right as well, if a bit convoluted and a tad hard to follow as it’s set up.

The play begins with a lot of narration given by various cast members, and the verbal rather than visual storytelling – even harder to comprehend through the faux English accents of the cast – makes it rather slow going for the first 15 minutes or so. We meet Lord Aster, on a mission from Queen Victoria from England to a country called Rundoon, where he is to deliver a chest of treasure whose nature is at this point unrevealed. The pirate Slank has learned of the treasure and has made a plot to switch the treasure chest from the good ship Wasp to his own ship, the Neverland. Lord Aster’s daughter, the precocious and obnoxious Molly, is going to Rundoon as well, but her father has chosen to have her sail on a slower but safer ship – the Neverland, wouldn’t you know it? Fellow passengers on the Neverland include three orphan boys who have been kidnapped and sold into slavery. The boys are Prentiss, Ted, and a third who was orphaned so young he doesn’t even know his name (but don’t you suspect his initials will turn out to be P.P.) and is simply called “Boy.” Once at sea, the Wasp is attacked by pirates led by the snarly Black Stache, who also covets the chested treasure and is most upset when he learns of the switcheroo that has placed the treasure chest on the Neverland, leaving a decoy on the Wasp.

So, we have two ships, two treasure chests and two pirates – but once all that’s understood, the plot is easier to follow though no less intricate. Black Stache and the Wasp pursue Slank and the Neverland; the Boy and Molly become rivals who bond, there are threatening but funny natives on Rundoon, among other things. This is all played out on a simple set of a draped background, with the aid of props literal and symbolic. Simple objects represent exotic forces of nature and the like – while the actors are dressed in fanciful costumes by Paloma Young that have the necessary storybook quality.

  

It’s really the performances that carry the show, though, beginning with John Sanders as “Black Stache,” who you might guess will someday be called Captain Hook. Sanders, who understudied the role on Broadway, backing up Christian Borle, makes as much with the role of the flamboyant villain as any actor ever has. His pirate is charming and vain, and delivers a monolog of five minutes or so consisting of only the words “oh my God,” when you know what happens to his right hand. He could easily steal the show, but he’s matched by Megan Stern as the indomitable Molly – the smartest, toughest 13-year-old that ever sailed the seas. If Sanders’ superb Stache is a worthy successor to the likes of famous Captain Hooks such as Cyril Ritchard and Dustin Hoffman, Stern’s Molly is a complete original. Totally believable as a headstrong early teen, funny and as lovable as she is obnoxious. Less flashy, but filled with tons of heart is Joey deBettencourt as the Boy – a beaten, but still hopeful survivor somewhere between a Dickensian orphan and a Bowery Boy – sweet but never sentimental. deBettencourt, who was doing storefront theater in Chicago just a year ago, is one of several Chicago actors cast in this national tour of the Tony-winning Broadway hit, and they all do us proud.

Supporting performances are first-rate all around, having a great time with Rick Elice’s alternately smart and silly script that offers its share of bad puns, personal hygiene and self-referential jokes and anachronisms. Elice’s words could sound just corny in lesser hands, but this cast puts it all over with panache. No matter how J.M. Barrie’s story is reinvented – whether as a Broadway musical, live TV musical, animated movie or Broadway play, it magically never seems to grow old.

Rating: ★★★½

Peter and the Starcatcher continues through April 13th at Bank of America Theatre, 18 W. Monroe (map).  Tickets are $18-$85, and are available by phone (800-775-2000) or online at Ticketmaster.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at PeterAndTheStarcatcher.com.  (Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes, includes intermission)

Photos by Jenny Anderson

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artists

cast

Harter Clingman (Alf), Jimonn Cole (Slank), Joey deBettencourt (Boy), Nathan Hosner (Lord Aster), Carl Howell (Prentiss), John Sanders (Black Stache), Benjamin Schrader (Mrs. Bumbrake), Luke Smith (Smee), Megan Stern (Molly), Ian Michael Stuart (Captain Scott), Edward Tournier (Ted), Lee Zarrett (Fighting Prawn), Ben Beckley, Robert Franklin Neill, Rachel Prather, Nick Vidal (understudies)

behind the scenes

Roger Rees, Alex Timbers (directors), Steven Hoggett (movement), Wayne Barker (original music), Lillian King (associate director), Paloma Young (costume designer), Donyale Werle (scenic design), Marco Paguia (musical supervisor), Andy Grobengieser (music director), Jeff Croiter (lighting designer), Darron L. West (sound designer), Shawn Pennington (production stage manager), Patrick McCollum (movement associate), Phoenix Entertainment (technical supervision), Jim Carnahan, Jillian Cimini (casting), Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum (fight director), Katherine Wallace (production supervisor), Tom Smedes, Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Shaffert, Eva Price (producers), Jenny Anderson (photos)

  

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