Peter and the Starcatcher
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Cititour.com Review
It’s tough to make a children’s theatre show into a vehicle palatable to adults. There’s always that fine line of "taste" versus "giggles" for the kids. Peter and the Starcatcher, an off-Broadway transfer about how Peter Pan and his band of "lost boys" landed on that island, works really, really hard to try and make that transition. But try as they might – and the script from Rick Elice (based upon the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson) never met a pun it didn’t like – the creative team can’t quite steer this behemoth on the right course.
On the plus side, the puns are funny and much of this exercise is filled with imagination and good humor, but the main problem is the endless exposition. Just catching the audience up to speed is a long and arduous process of introducing all the characters, sprinkling in all the Peter Pan references, and explaining the magical concept of "star-stuff" – sorta like stardust, only creepy. To please the kids there’s plenty of bathroom humor to go around.
What works well is an incredibly talented cast headed by Christian Borle (now in Smash). As the dastardly pirate, Black Stache, Borle is shameless in his pursuit of landing a laugh and he does it with a great deal of panache. Adam Chanler-Berat (Next to Normal), as Peter, is sweet and likeable. Celia Keenan-Bolger (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), as the only female in an all-male cast, is delightful in her pursuit of the mysterious star-stuff.
Donyale Werle’s set, and Paloma Young’s costumes, are intentionally old-school, filled with pots and pans, brooms and ropes, standing in for a number of items – each one designed to elicit laughter. There are no official songs listed here, but the two-man band plays more than atmospheric music. Although there is no official choreography either, “movement” is credited to Steven Hoggett, and, indeed, they do move rather well.
But you know you’re in a bit of hot water when there are two directors listed. Roger Rees shares the credit with Alex Timbers and between the two of them they manage to keep the show afloat, but for Peter and the Starcatcher, it’s a rough voyage.
By Lesley Alexander
Visit the Site
http://peterandthestarcatcher.com
Cast
Christian Borle, Adam Chanler-Berat, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Teddy Bergman, Arnie Burton, Matt D’Amico, Kevin Del Aguila, Carson Elrod, Greg Hildreth, Rick Holmes, Isaiah Johnson, David Rossmer, Betsy Hogg, Orville Mendoza, Jason Ralph, John Sanders
Open/Close Dates
Opening 3/28/2012
Closing 1/20/2013
Box Office
800-745-3000
Theatre Info
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
256 West 47th Street
New York, NY 10036
Map
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