Review: 'Peter and the Starcatcher' at Playhouse on Park

Pictured above: The cast of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER Photos courtesy Curt Henderson & Meredith Atkinson.

West Hartford, CT - I have high expectations for the show PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, so I looked forward to seeing the production that has opened at Playhouse on Park. I was not disappointed in any way with this magical and imaginative production.

So ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ tells the backstory of the miserable orphan who would become the boy who would not grow up. The young orphan without a name and his mates are shipped on a ship from Victorian England to a distant kingdom ruled by an evil king. There are some marauding pirates, a jungle tyrant, less-than-willing comrades and unlikely heroes in this engaging adventure. Best of all there is a mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin, which contains a precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training who realizes that the trunk’s precious cargo is starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. The theatrical production is an adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s novels. The play was written by Rick Elice, with music by Wayne Barker. A dozen actors portray more than 100 unforgettable characters in this play with music.

“And now, I toss our giddiness, our adventure, and our childlike wonder to you to embrace and hold for two hours and to shirk your responsibilities and fly off to another time and another place and be a kid again.” - Director Sean Harris

Sean Harris, who directed the spectacular IN THE HEIGHTS and is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Playhouse on Park, directs this magical piece with just the right amount of magic. A long rope is employed by an actor or a few actors to become the doors on a ship and the manipulation of objects and clever staging makes us believe that the pirates are indeed aboard a large vessel as well as other locations. The wooden set designed by David Lewis (THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK) has once again done the job well. Darlene Zoller choreographed the dance moves.

Every hard-working member of the cast played various roles in the ensemble, so I won’t mention it on their list of characters portrayed. WCSU grad Brianna Bagley played the role of the lost boy who wants to be the leader named Prentiss. Thomas Daniels played both nasty Neverland captain Bill Slank and Hawking Clam. Elena V. Levenson played the clam’s father Fighting Prawn, as well as Grempkin, Sanchez and Mack. James Fairchild (AVENUE Q) stood out as the good natured sailor Alf that falls instantly in love with Mrs. Bumbrake, played wonderfully by Hartt School grad Colleen Welsh (AVENUE Q.)

Jared Starkey had the requisite energy and plenty of charm to play Boy, later named Peter Pan. Natalie Sannes matched his performance easily as the know-it-all girl Molly Aster. Miss Sandra Mlongo took on the role Smee in her Playhouse on Park debut and kept us smiling when she corrected Black Stash’s verbal errors.

The lighting design by Joe Beumer was simply magical and almost stood out as a character itself. Kudos to Mr. Beumer for capturing Tinkerbell’s magic in his lighting throughout the two acts. Costumes designed by Kate Bunce (IN THE HEIGHTS) set up the various characters perfectly and often transformed along with the actor from one character to another. And those mermaid costumes...Judi Manfre was in charge of the props and set dressing. Jen Scapetis-Tycer coached the actors on their dialect and Shannon Michael Wamser worked with them on the fight choreography.

Melanie Guerin was the music arranger/director, and I got to meet Sean G. Rubin, the artist who was credited as music arranger and producer. I loved the Disney touch of the “Yo Ho A Pirate’s Life for Me.” Equity member James Patrick was bravely paternal in the role of Lord Leonard Aster in his debut with Playhouse on Park. Nick Palazzo, who was so great as Sonny in IN THE HEIGHTS, played Ted the lost boy. Nicholas Dana Rylands played the captain of the Wasp, Capt. Robert Falcon Scott.

Equity member Matthew Quinn made the most of the role of Black Stash, a fabulous role that needs to be big and broad. It was fun to see him improv when a rolling piece of the set misbehaved. Mr. Quinn played Captain Hook in VILLAIN'S TONIGHT! Aboard the Disney Magic cruise ship and understudied Hook in the first national tour of FINDING NEVERLAND, so he knows this character well.

The STARCATCHER experience begins in the lovingly decorated lobby of Playhouse on Park. Don’t forget to look up to see the wooden lanterns suspended from its ceiling. The show itself also begins early when the actors enter the stage area, interacting with each other, to finish their preparations for the performance. This technique, coupled with the low ceilings in the performance space, make for an intimate performance.

STARCATCHER is a highly imaginative show, often told in third person, that provides a backstory for the characters of Peter Pan, Mrs Darling, Tinkerbell and Hook, and serves as a prequel to J. M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy. Try to catch this production in West Hartford before it closes on Oct. 14.

Photo by Gary Rosengrant

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417