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For the past 120 years or so, the character named Peter Pan as originally created by J.M. Barrie has been flitting through our collective imaginations. And why not, since he's a boy who can fly and will never grow up. It's an entrancing thought, since most of us can trace a lot of our current difficulties to that whole growing up thing.
While the musical Peter Pan is the story many people know and love, Peter and the Starcatcher—now at Blank Canvas Theatre—tells the backstory of Peter and all the other familiar characters including the "lost boys," Captain Hook and even Tinkerbelle. As crafted by playwright Rick Elice, with added music and some incidental songs by Wayne Barker, and based on the novel by famed humorist Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, this is a family-friendly romp. It's packed with slapstick humor, silly wordplay and anachronisms, and a few serious reflections on youthful loneliness and the loss of innocence.
Even though the cast of characters is well-known, the show struggles to find its footing early on. Indeed, the first half hour at and around a British port is so freighted with exposition that one begins to wonder when we get to the good stuff.
As the plot takes shape, we see that there are two ships. One is The Wasp, carrying Lord Aster (Anne McEvoy), her daughter and apprentice "starcatcher" Molly (feisty Sarah Farris) and her nanny Mrs. Bumbrake (Abbey Marshall). Then there's The Neverland, helmed by vicious Bill Slank (a suitably snarly Brandon Alexander-Smith) where three orphan boys are stowed, including one with no name who will soon be dubbed Peter Pan (an excellent Sullivan Ratcliff). The Wasp's passengers are accompanied by a squad of British sailors, who turn out to be pirates led by the fearsome Black Stache.
The pirates are there because of identical-looking trunks on each ship, one filled with the Queen of England's loot and the other filled with sand as a decoy. Both ships hit the high seas, soon Black Stache boards the other one, and the fight for the treasure is on. Of course, it's all played for fun since Stache and his pirates are about as frightening as the Cleveland Guardians' batting lineup.
From the start, Brian Altman as Black Stache stakes his claim as owner and proprietor of this production and thank goodness for that. Capturing a mixture of Cyril Richard (the original Captain Hook on Broadway), Charles Nelson Reilly, and Peter Sellers, Altman is consistently hilarious and energizes the production whenever he is on stage. It all culminates towards the end of the show when Stache loses his right hand in a comically horrific accident—explaining his later-in-life moniker, Captain Hook.
Act Two begins with a dazzling song as Stache and a chorus of mermaids sing an ode to "starstuff" (the material that renowned astronomer Carl Sagan once said we're all made of) that falls from the heavens. But after that, the show loses some steam as it meanders around a desert island where they all wind up after a shipwreck and where the show busies itself with ticking the boxes to explain who all the famous characters become and why.
Other members in the frequently cross-gender cast who add to the fun are Emily Schrader as the love-smitten pirate Alf (he falls for the nanny) and Lysa Kenney as various nasty characters including the Fighting Prawn. Unfortunately, aside from Altman, too many of the lines are rushed or inaudible, so some witticisms go missing.
But the production is a visual treat thanks to the projection design by director Patrick Ciamacco. From a stage floor that is turned into a believable chunk of ocean to the cluttered ship deck and the lush island flora and fauna, Ciamacco's projection art is something to behold— as long as you don't get seasick from seeing the ship rock through the portholes.
In all, Peter and the Starcatcher is a sometimes confusing but generally amusing effort, with a display of actual theatrical starstuff provided by Altman's endearingly wacky Black Stache.
Peter and the Starcatcher
Through September 9 at Blank Canvas Theatre, 78th Street Studios, 1305 West 78th St., Suite 211, 440-941-0458
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While the musical Peter Pan is the story many people know and love, Peter and the Starcatcher—now at Blank Canvas Theatre—tells the backstory of Peter and all the other familiar characters including the "lost boys," Captain Hook and even Tinkerbelle. As crafted by playwright Rick Elice, with added music and some incidental songs by Wayne Barker, and based on the novel by famed humorist Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, this is a family-friendly romp. It's packed with slapstick humor, silly wordplay and anachronisms, and a few serious reflections on youthful loneliness and the loss of innocence.
Even though the cast of characters is well-known, the show struggles to find its footing early on. Indeed, the first half hour at and around a British port is so freighted with exposition that one begins to wonder when we get to the good stuff.
As the plot takes shape, we see that there are two ships. One is The Wasp, carrying Lord Aster (Anne McEvoy), her daughter and apprentice "starcatcher" Molly (feisty Sarah Farris) and her nanny Mrs. Bumbrake (Abbey Marshall). Then there's The Neverland, helmed by vicious Bill Slank (a suitably snarly Brandon Alexander-Smith) where three orphan boys are stowed, including one with no name who will soon be dubbed Peter Pan (an excellent Sullivan Ratcliff). The Wasp's passengers are accompanied by a squad of British sailors, who turn out to be pirates led by the fearsome Black Stache.
The pirates are there because of identical-looking trunks on each ship, one filled with the Queen of England's loot and the other filled with sand as a decoy. Both ships hit the high seas, soon Black Stache boards the other one, and the fight for the treasure is on. Of course, it's all played for fun since Stache and his pirates are about as frightening as the Cleveland Guardians' batting lineup.
From the start, Brian Altman as Black Stache stakes his claim as owner and proprietor of this production and thank goodness for that. Capturing a mixture of Cyril Richard (the original Captain Hook on Broadway), Charles Nelson Reilly, and Peter Sellers, Altman is consistently hilarious and energizes the production whenever he is on stage. It all culminates towards the end of the show when Stache loses his right hand in a comically horrific accident—explaining his later-in-life moniker, Captain Hook.
Act Two begins with a dazzling song as Stache and a chorus of mermaids sing an ode to "starstuff" (the material that renowned astronomer Carl Sagan once said we're all made of) that falls from the heavens. But after that, the show loses some steam as it meanders around a desert island where they all wind up after a shipwreck and where the show busies itself with ticking the boxes to explain who all the famous characters become and why.
Other members in the frequently cross-gender cast who add to the fun are Emily Schrader as the love-smitten pirate Alf (he falls for the nanny) and Lysa Kenney as various nasty characters including the Fighting Prawn. Unfortunately, aside from Altman, too many of the lines are rushed or inaudible, so some witticisms go missing.
But the production is a visual treat thanks to the projection design by director Patrick Ciamacco. From a stage floor that is turned into a believable chunk of ocean to the cluttered ship deck and the lush island flora and fauna, Ciamacco's projection art is something to behold— as long as you don't get seasick from seeing the ship rock through the portholes.
In all, Peter and the Starcatcher is a sometimes confusing but generally amusing effort, with a display of actual theatrical starstuff provided by Altman's endearingly wacky Black Stache.
Peter and the Starcatcher
Through September 9 at Blank Canvas Theatre, 78th Street Studios, 1305 West 78th St., Suite 211, 440-941-0458
Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
