For my first show of the 2024-2025 #TCTheater season, I saw
Lyric Arts' production of the charming and whimsical play with music Peter and the Starcatcher. This is my 6th time seeing this show in the last 12 years (
most recently at Duluth Playhouse this spring), but the great thing about it is that there is a lot of room for play and invention within the structure of the script. It's typically done with physical theater and low-tech theater magic, and it's always fun to see how a company interprets the story and adds their own spin. Directed by Lyric Arts' Resident Director Scott Ford, this production is very loose and playful, while also being polished and well choreographed. The talented 12-person cast works and plays well together to bring this charming story to life. It's very funny and entertaining, and also sweet and nostalgic as it taps into the familiar and beloved story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. Make the short trip out to Anoka to see how Peter became Pan, with the help of a strong and spirted young girl,
now through September 29.
The five-time Tony winning 2012 Broadway play
Peter and the Starcatcher is based on the 2004 novel
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, a prequel to the Peter Pan story with which we're all familiar. Much of the story is explained to us in narration by the ensemble. The title character is an unnamed and unloved orphan who's sold into slavery along with two other boys. They're being transported on the ship Neverland, captained by Slank and his rough and rowdy crew. Also on board are 13-year-old Molly and her nurse, Mrs. Bumbrake. Molly's father, the well-to-do and important Lord Aster, has entrusted her to the captain while he travels on a more dangerous route aboard the Wasp, on a mission for the queen. He's transporting a trunk of the mysterious "starstuff" that unbeknownst to him has been swapped with a similar trunk of worthless sand by the devious Captain Slank. Aster's ship is overtaken by pirates, namely the dastardly Black Stache and his sidekick Smee, and much hijinks and hilarity ensue as the pirates try to get the treasure and Molly and the boys try to save it and her father. The action continues in the second act as they all land on a tropical island. It's a sweet and engaging story with a heroine and a hero to root for, clever puns and alliterations mixed with modern references, and a theme of home and friendship and belonging, as the unnamed boy becomes the legend that is Peter Pan.*
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Peter (Nate Turcotte) and the Starcatcher (May Heinecke)
(photo by Molly Weibel) |
The cast is led by two talented young actors from the Guthrie/U of M BFA program (natch). May Heinecke is a natural as Molly, youthful and with boundless energy, her long hair perfectly disheveled. Nate Turcotte is also wonderful as the scared and lonely orphan boy who becomes Peter. The villain of the piece, Black Stache, is played by Noah Hynick in a hilarious performance, part bumbling idiot, part rage-filled despot. The scene in which he loses his hand (spoiler alert) is a thing of comic beauty, with which his castmates trying to stifle their laughter would probably agree (hint: keep your eyes on that 'stache). Other highlights include Brendan Veerman as Black Stache's right-hand man Smee, Alex Stokes as Mrs. Bumbrake, and Eric Knutson as Molly's gentleman father. But really the entire cast is great, playing multiple parts both human and otherwise (doors, hallways), with an "all hands on deck" approach to the storytelling.
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| the villain Black Stache (Noah Hynick, photo by Molly Weibel) |
This isn't a musical, but there is music throughout the show, with the cast singing a few songs and Music Director Wesley Frye playing keyboard in the orchestra room somewhere upstairs. I actually wasn't sure if the music was live or recorded until I saw Wesley in the monitors at curtain call. I know Lyric Arts has limitations in their space, but I wish they could have found a way to bring the music into the room for this show, making it feel more organic to the show.
The set consists of a multi-level wooden deck and rustic wooden backdrop, with ropes and tarps and little ship models used as props. Usually the second act sees a big transformation to the colorful floral island setting, but here it's done more subtly with lighting, which works with the low-tech storytelling style. Characters are dressed in sepia toned period costumes, with a skirt or a jacket added to signify a different character (set design by Peter Lerohl, props design by Kat Walker, lighting design by Shannon Elliot, and costume design by Samantha Fromm Haddow).
Peter and the Starcatcher is a wonderful story of adventure and community, in which people learn to work together, and discover that the leader doesn't always have to be a boy. A great lesson we can use in real life too.
