An Odd Trip to Neverland

Peter Pan was not what I was expecting in, I assure you, a good way. My only fault with it did not even concern the performers. It's just that the Black Box is such a small space that doesn’t have a lot of room for maneuvering, and maneuvering was a huge part of this play. Scene changes were relatively frequent, but I like how elements from the previous setting remained in the new ‘land.’ The transitions were necessary, but they were also distracting. I was worried for the stage crew to get everything done. Especially that first change into Neverland when someone was struggling with the tree. I kept worrying that it was going to fall down instead of being pulled into the show. This problem could not have been overcome though. I don’t have any suggestions because I don't think any are available. It stinks that this play couldn’t have been performed exactly as I’m sure it was imagined.(We need a proper theater!)

I was very happy with Wendy and her brothers. I loved John and that little bit about boy children versus girl children. John  is a quirky character and I think Amalia did a great job showing that. Maddy was also a great Micheal. Her personality fitted this role perfectly and her whining and attachment to her teddy bear gave off the whole little boy vibe necessary for Micheal. Wendy was much sweeter than I remember( I admit I haven’t seen the movie in quite some time). I loved that Nana was the nurse and the dog. It was weird at first and even weirder later on, but I liked it. The lost boys were all very endearing. They had some great one-liners, as did Smee. He (she?) was my favorite character. That awkward evil laugh between him and Captain Hook was really funny and almost too long, which just made it better. Again the staging and the Black Box’s limitations kind of slowed the effects of some dramatic moments. There was a moment when Peter stood at Captain Hook’s wheel with his hook and hat and just moved the wheel slowly. People were confused, so there were cast members on stage and the lighting was a little off. I think I got the point, but it looked weird and not in the good way that the rest of the play was.

I loved the characterization of the people I knew well from stories and appreciated the spins that are actually original to the story (Captain Hook/ Mrs. Darling being played by the same person caused me to draw some interesting parallels). I really loved the play and just which we had the space for everyone that worked so hard, to properly show off their talent. I commend the amazing job that was done by everybody that it ran so smoothly and captured everyone's attention for the full two hours.