Peter Pan
By J. M. Barrie, Adapted by Tanya Rounder, Music Composed and Conducted by Benjamin Wallfisch, Directed by Ben Harrison; Set, Costume & 3D Projection Design by William Dudley; Choreographer, Fleur Darkin; Sound Design, Gregory Clarke; Lighting Design, Mark Henderson; Fight Direction, Nicholas Hall; Puppetry Direction, Sue Buckmaster; Illusions, Paul Kieve; Music Director, Duncan Wisbey; Flying Consultant, Freedom Flying
CAST (in order of appearance): Scott Weston, Evelyn Hoskins, Tom Larkin, Joshua Holden, Shannon Warrick, Josh Swales, Emily Yetter, Chuck Bradley, Lee Turnbull, Darren Barrere, Ben Adams, Ian Street, Keith Richards, Ben Huth, Alejandro Cordoba, Alexander Knapp, Ian Paul Custer, Jonathan Kidder, Heidi Buehler, Amanda Goble, Kasumi Kato, Rachel Lien
Performances through December 30 at The Threesixty Theatre on Boston City Hall Plaza; Box Office 888-PPANTIX (772-6849) or www.peterpantheshow.com/Boston
Boston City Hall and the adjacent City Hall Plaza were built in the 1960s and the latter rests atop the Project for Public Spaces list of the worst squares and plazas in the world. Not so proudly taking its place in the Hall of Shame, the area has been the subject of much discussion focusing on redesign or demolition, but no resolution has been forthcoming over the decades. Well, at least through the end of December, the massive brick and concrete Plaza is being put to excellent use for the Boston engagement of The Threesixty Theatre stage production of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, featuring a 1,300 seat state-of-the-art theater tent, its 100-foot tall white cupola rising above the barren expanse.
As impressive as the installation appears from the exterior, sitting inside the round auditorium brings to mind the Planetarium, only on a much grander scale (actually three times the size of Imax screens). When the visuals appear on the tent ceiling/movie screen, they are brilliantly colorful and larger than life, transporting us, like the three Darling children, as willing travelers to the lush jungles and lagoons of Peter's home, the magical Neverland. Twelve projectors ringing the stage beam videos on the tent walls, immersing the cast and audience into a world of computer-generated imagery (CGI), unlike any other theater experience.
The classic story of the boy who refuses to grow up has stood the test of time and has been presented in many iterations and formats. For my generation, Mary Martin is the quintessential Peter Pan, but Cathy Rigby continues to play the role on tour, and the Walt Disney cartoon version elicits fond memories more than half a century later. The interesting marriage of cutting edge technology to a venerable, much loved tale (first performed in London in 1904), as well as the casting of a young man in the lead, give this Peter Pan its unique niche in the annals of the play.
Chuck Bradley, a graduate of the Boston Conservatory Theatre Program, is an impish Peter who appears to be enjoying the role of a lifetime. With his faithful fairy Tinker Bell (Boston area native Emily Yetter) by his side, he descends upon the nursery of the Darling children, in search of his missing shadow, changing their lives by inviting them along on a great adventure. Wendy (Evelyn Hoskins), John (Tom Larkin), and Michael (Scott Weston) lift off with the assistance of a dash of fairy dust and bilateral wires dangling from hanger-shaped devices and connected to hooks at their waists. In the evening's most exciting moment, the five fliers join hands as they float above the stage in formation, the virtual Edwardian LonDon Skyline and English countryside zooming beneath them to create the illusion of flight.
