Peter and the Starcatcher- The Empress Theatre

 

Peter and the Starcatcher is the origin story of Peter Pan that follows a lonely orphan boy and his friends as they embark on a dangerous adventure to protect a trunk of "starstuff" from the notorious pirate Black Stache. Aided by Molly, the daughter of a Starcatcher, the boy discovers the true potential of friendship and the responsibility that comes with growing up, ultimately leading to the creation of Peter Pan. The play is based on the 2004 novel Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, adapted for the stage by Rick Elice, with music written by Wayne Barker.

Direction:

The director for this production was Beth Bruner. Bruner took a different approach to this production, that I had never seen done before. She made it feel like a bunch of friends came together to play make believe and put on the show. (I found this idea delightful.) Durning the announcements the actors came on in their base layer and put on their costume on stage when it was their character's turn to help tell the story. Bruner had the actors add in non scripted quips that helped show that the actors were there as actors telling the story. She also had actors stay on stage and sit on the sides to show that they were there to help support one another. With the vision being this way, Bruner chose to not mic any of the actors. There were some fun lines that were missed because the actors kept talking over the audience's laughter or because of sound effects being the same level as the actors speaking.

The music director for this production was Jennie Jonsson. There aren't many songs in this production, but Jonsson made sure that all of the actors voices could be heard when they sang as an ensemble. My favorite vocal ensemble number of the night was "Mermaid Outta Me." The cast was together and you could tell that it was a song loved by all. I appreciated that there was a hand mic set up for Molly's solo so you could hear her over the power of the rest of the ensemble.

Performances: 

Boy was played by Koda Smith. Smith was born to be Peter Pan. He started out his character strong when he played the first few notes of the main title from Peter Pan "Second Star to the Right" on both a tin whistle and a pan pipe. His posture was strong and he played the cockiness that Peter is known to have in a wonderful way.

(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)

Molly was played by Camille Bassett. Bassett played a believable 13 year old girl that was confident and strong with who she was as a person. She made Molly a know-it-all, which helped make her even more child like. Bassett's accent was also strong and on point.

Lord Aster was played by Brad A. Goodman. Goodman played a worried, caring, and strong willed father. His stage presence was strong and as a result you could immediately tell if he was playing Lord Aster or one of the side characters.

Black Stache was played by Alexander Richardson. Richardson has always been a favorite of mine to watch on stage. This production of the show wasn't any different. His posture started off very Jack Sparrow but then grew to a hilariously lovable villain. His accent was strong and he used the strength of his vocal abilities to help tell the story. When his character got scared, he went all for it and made that scene the most comedic that I've ever seen it.

(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)

Slank/ Hawking Clam was played by Braxton Moore. Being one that has seen him in a calmer, leading man role made Moore's character a delight to watch. From his first moment on stage you could feel who his character was. He was scary and downright evil as Slank. In act 2 when he played Hawking Clam there was a clear difference of who his character was. Both characters added to the story in the way that they were intended to.

Mrs. Brumbrake was played by Zack Anderson. Anderson was my favorite character of the night. I heard him talking about this show while The Empress's previous show Tarzan was running. He played up being a man pretending to play a woman in the best comedic way. The audience couldn't help but laugh every time Anderson made a strong character choice on stage. Anderson playing against Emily Jameson (Alf) who was pretending to be a man made for some hilariously cringe worthy moments as well.

(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)

Design:

The set and lights were designed by David Bruner. Bruner designed the set as a simple playroom. The floor originally was going to be like a toy car rug, but later became what is pictured below. The lights helped tell the story. On the proscenium there was a black curtain, which is later revealed to be something else through the lights. (It helped tell the story SO much.) The LED's made the steering wheel prop for the Neverland stand out in the coolest way. 

The costumer for the show was Jana Wilhite. The costumes for this production was my favorite thing of the whole night. Wilhite made sure the costumes were time period to the 1880's. Molly's blue dress was a show stopper and helped add to her character. Black Stache's costume also stood out and helped hint who his character becomes later in the Peter Pan saga. The mermaid's tops were hilarious and made for a fun conversation topic after the performance.
(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)

The prop master for the show was Celeste Reese. Being someone who has propped this show before, I enjoyed the choices that were made for the props in this production. With the show being that a group of friends were getting together to put on a show, the props were items that you could find around a house. The two ships in a bottle were make from soda bottles that had paper ships in them. The necklaces that Molly and Lord Aster had shown beautifully on stage. The weapons the Mollusk tribe had were perfect and added SO much humor to the scene.
(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)

Final Impressions:

Being one where the Empress is just around the corner from my house, The Empress is one of my favorite places to go see a show. This show is one that is safe for family members of ALL ages to go see. If you haven't see a version of the show and are hard of hearing, it may benefit you to read a synopsis of the show so you don't miss any of the wonderful jokes. Maybe one of these days I'll meet you at the Empress!

Tickets

(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)



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