(This is a review of the performing arts department’s presentation of the musical, “Peter Pan”)
With all the youthful energy of J.M. Barrie’s original novel and the skill and flair Thespian Troupe 1298 is known for, this year’s spring musical, Piers Chater Robinson’s “Peter Pan,” is truly an out-of-this-world journey. Presented on April 6, 7, and 8 in the auditorium, the play focuses on the story of Wendy (senior Krysta Garcia), John (junior Jason Lewis) and Michael (sophomore Jackie Davis) Darling and their adventure in Neverland with Peter Pan (junior Allison Carter), the boy who never grows up.
The musical presents neither songs from the popular 1953 Disney film, such as “You Can Fly!”, nor songs from the 1954 Broadway version, such as “I Won’t Grow Up.” Instead, the cast offers delightfully contemporary musical numbers complete with upbeat rock and roll undertones. While one might expect high school voices to sounds pitchy or squeaky, the performers sung clear and pure, especially during Peter and Wendy’s final melody, “Don’t Say Goodbye.”
The energetic cast was entirely engaging to watch. The actors completely captured attention of the entire audience through purposefully exaggerated gestures and articulation, both of which brought back the childlike excitement of meeting these well-known characters for the first time. Carter and Garcia play outstanding leads, but Jake Barson as Captain Hook often steals the show whenever he enters the stage. From his rich voice to his dashing mustache, the senior certainly seems the perfect actor to play the famous pirate.
The presence of the live music, provided by the Palmetto Pit Orchestra, added a particularly memorable element to the show. Many high schools perform their musicals with the help of recorded soundtracks, but nothing can quite match the living and breathing musicians who support the actors of “Peter Pan.” The orchestra nailed the Indians’ percussion theme and the romance in the string instruments for Peter and Wendy’s theme, and the musicians deserve major props for their in-person performance.
The Variations dancers make two appearances (as both pirate lasses and Indian dancers). Both dances contained on-point choreography, which matched both the mood of each song and the pace of the play in general. While the dancers performed crisply, and with a practiced expertise, they appeared more animated during their second number, “Braves to War.”
Students have come to expect much of the drama department’s set design team, especially after the two-story, fully furnished house set built for “Rumors” earlier this year. At the beginning of Act One, audience members may initially feel disappointed in the simple nursery room scene. The reason for its flimsiness become apparent, however, when the crew pulls back all three of the set walls to reveal a neon Indian tent, a watercolor pirate ship, and painted forest. The bright colors contrast entirely with the plain bedroom and give the setting an awe-inspiring, childlike quality. While the crew’s use of lighting to recognize key characters seemed well-intentioned, at some points the intensity of the colored glow blinded the audience, making it difficult to see the actors.
The audience remained enchanted throughout the entire performance, which is saying something for a group of mainly high school students. The swift arrival of the intermission an hour and a half into the play came more quickly than many expected. Patrons took well to Tinkerbell’s death scene – most could not help but clap to save the fairy’s life. An overwhelming favorite element of the performance, however, came in Team Nitro’s role as the group of fairies. Team Nitro, of “Panther’s Got Talent” fame, provided a much-needed distraction as the stage crew moved the nursery set offstage. The only complaint one might have is that they group appeared only once throughout the play, while several other scene changes are left empty.
The performing arts department has done a phenomenal job preparing for this show. As drama teacher and director Elizabeth Sliverio noted in the program “sometimes we take ourselves too seriously, and maybe we need to take a moment to just have fun.” “Peter Pan” fully accomplishes this goal through the innocent imagination it brings to the stage, and it is well worth the three hours it spans.
The cast and crew will perform the show again on April 8 at 7 p.m., and tickets cost $10 during both lunches and at the door.
