Peter and the Starcatcher leaves audience star struck
Full of energy and innovation, the play was fun to watch
It’s Show Time- The audience comes in, getting their first glance at the stage. The screen on the left had an equivalent on the right. Each of these enhanced the staging as pictures and location cards described where the characters were. (Photo taken by Cordelia Lawton)
April 6, 2019
Lively. Innovative. Fun. Peter and the Starcatcher, which opened on April 4 and is running through the 7th, was clearly a fun play for the cast to perform as each performer’s face was full of passion and engagement. The show explores themes of belonging, responsibility and growing up while filling in the backstory to the famous characters of Peter Pan.
The set and designs for this play were really challenging, with the tech crew creating fantasy elements from mermaids to walls to flying cats. Working with the actors, the tech crew coordinated sound effects and actions to perfection. There was also clever umbrella usage ranging from ocean waves to mist to door handles. It was incredibly creative!
One of the must visually and dynamic scenes followed Molly looking for a certain room on the boat. As she opens a door, the walls, made up of cast members, spring to life to show the audience what’s going on in that room. The ocean was created by waves being projected on screens, blue lighting, sound effects, and waves of open blue umbrellas rolling across the stage. When a set wasn’t realistic like the golden waves of the lagoon where Pan encounters the star stuf,f they simply projected the golden pool on the screen.
While the play was creatively staged and designed, it was, especially in the first act, difficult to understand what some of the characters were saying. This made the exposition-heavy beginning pretty hard to understand and many were left wondering what was happening.
Despite this, Act Two picked itself up right from the start with the mermaid number. This song was cute and funny and the cast clearly loved performing it.
The principal cast really shined, especially Captain Hook played by senior Blake Johnson , Smee played by Lyssa Bass, Peter Pan played by junior Noland English and sophomore Molly Aster played by senior Carenna Slotkoff. The list of stand out characters coulld fill this article as the cast brought the show to life with vocal and physical expression. After this exciting performance I can’t wait to see what the drama department has in store for us next year!