**** Highly Recommended The Copley Theatre’s production of Peter and the Starcatcher, a tongue-in-cheek prequel to Peter Pan, is totally demented! Well, maybe I meant insane, or twisted, or hysterical. I might even call it a melo-dramedy! The entire cast totally embraced the essential zaniness of the play, and thanks to some very clever staging with ladders and planks, the campiness factor has gone off the charts. Peter and the Star Catcher is awesome! 4 BIG Spotlights
Actually, as soon as I noticed that Peter and the Star Catcher was based on the book by humorist Dave Barry – who has a twisted sense of humor – and Ridley Pearson, I knew it would be fun. Think Monty Python’s Spamalot with some Mel Brooks humor mixed in and you get the picture. You’ll be laughing the whole evening. By the way, There’s just enough music, played by Starstuff Musicians, Kevin Reeks and Tina Laughlin, to underscore dramatic scenes.
A couple of women sitting next to us left at intermission. Judging by their whispers, I’d guess they didn’t get the zany. Sit still! Whatever you didn’t get in Act I will become clear in Act II. The moral – NEVER, EVER leave a play after the first act!!!
The Copley Theater has a fairly small stage, so they removed it and used every inch of space between seats and the back wall. That space, with the addition of a couple of tall wooden ladders and a bunch of planks put to multiple creative uses, became the London docks, two ships, the HMS Wasp, a British warship, and the Neverland, a slower cargo ship and eventually an island.
There are two trunks on the dock. Lord Leonard Aster (Kevin Kantor), leaving on a secret mission to Rangoon, is responsible for Queen Victoria’s trunk. He plans to sail on the Wasp with Captain Robert Falcon Scott (Matt Bowdren). For safety’s sake, he’s sending his daughter, Molly (Shelbi Voss), an apprentice star catcher, and her nanny, Mrs. Bumbrake (Gabriel Fries), on the much slower Neverland.
Unbeknownst to Lord Aster, Bill Slank (Mat Miles), captain of the Neverland, has put his mark on Queen Victoria’s trunk and filled the other with sand, planning to switch the trunks so the marked trunk (Queen V’s) ends up on board his ship. Meanwhile, the master of an orphanage has sold three orphans to Slank. As the ship is loading, Molly sees one of the boys fall out of a crate, but Slank diverts her attention.
Shortly after the Wasp sailed, it was boarded and seized by Black Stache (Nick Sandys), a pirate known for his handlebar ‘stache, claps the crew and Lord Aster in irons. Black Stache is a legend in his own mind who swash-buckles while his mate, Smee (Mark David Kaplan), does the real work. Positive the contents of Queen Victoria’s trunk will make him rich, he opens it but it’s full of sand. Infuriated, he demands to know the whereabouts of the real trunk, which, being a full-fledged star catcher, Lord Aster refuses to disclose.
Meanwhile, Slank opens the marked trunk but it’s full of sand! Thinking there was a double switch he sails for the Wasp. Meanwhile, he’s locked Molly and Mrs. Bumbrake in a tiny cabin, but Molly, who is brave, bossy, and kind of a know-it-all – in other words, totally cool, escapes. When Mrs. B meets up with Alf (Tamsen Glaser), an old flame from her last position, Molly goes exploring and finds the orphan boys, Boy (Terry Bell), Prentiss (Michaela Shapiro) and Ted (Brandon Acosta) in a crate in the hold and breaks them out.
Black Stache attacks the Neverland to get his hands on that trunk. When he crosses paths with Slank, insults and swords result, until they spot an island - and run aground.
Act II begins with a totally unexpected musical number - which could have come straight out of Monte Python’s Spamalot or Mel Brooks’ The Producers. A Fighting Prawn (Bernacki) and a Hawking Clam (Miles) lead the rest of the pirates who now have mermaid tails in song.
Did you ever wonder how Peter got his name … or how he became a lost boy…or who Captain Hook used to be … or how the crocodile swallowed a timepiece? Did Molly become a full-fledged Starcatcher or did she have to stay on the island? Stick around, learning the answers to these questions is half the fun!
Matt Bowdren (Captain Scott), Tamsen Glaser (Alf) and Kevin Kantor (Lord Aster) are also part of the ensemble. A few play multiple parts - Josh Bernacki (Grempkin/Fighting Prawn/Mack/Sanchez/Ensemble), Gabriel Fries (Mrs. Bumbrake/Teacher/Ensemble) and Matt Miles (Bill Slank/Hawking Clam/Ensemble). The ensemble includes Beck Damron, Matt Johnson, Nathan Karnik and Dana Pepowski.
Peter and the Starcatcher, part of the Paramount Theatre’s BOLD series, runs through September 1st in the Copley Theatre, North Island Center, 8 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora. Plenty of street parking is available. Running time is approximately 2 hours, 40 minutes, with an intermission.
Performances are Wednesdays at 1:30 & 7:00 pm, Thursdays at 7:00 pm; Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 and 8:00 pm, Sundays at 1:00 and 5:30 pm. American Sign Language interpreted performance on Friday, August 30th at 8:00 pm. Tickets range from $40-$55. FYI (630) 896-6666 or www.paramountaurora.com.