Stuart’s Upper School fall play, Peter and the Starcatcher, takes the Cor Unum stage this November 7th and 8th! Under the direction of Jan Baldwin, this energetic comedy promises to engage audiences young and old alike, with its fast-paced, compelling narrative.
Peter and the Starcatcher, adapted from the book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is a prequel to Peter Pan; it provides a backstory for Peter, Captain Hook, Mrs Darling, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and Neverland. The narrative explains how Hook becomes an infamous villain and how Peter gains his powers. The plot follows three orphaned teenage boys — Ted, Prentiss, and a nameless orphan known only as Boy — as they embark upon a journey aboard the rundown ship The Neverland, led by Captain Bill Slank, heading for the imaginary kingdom of Rundoon.
On a faster, grander ship called The Wasp, the legendary Robert Falcon Scott transports a trunk full of starstuff, a magical substance that changes those who touch it. Accompanying the trunk are Lord Leonard Aster, his daughter Molly, and her nanny, Mrs. Bumbrake. Aster and Molly are “starcatchers,” tasked with destroying the trunk in the world’s hottest active volcano.
When pirates, led by the flamboyant and ruthless Black Stache and his bumbling sidekick Smee, seize control of The Wasp in search of the trunk, they discover that the trunk contains only ordinary sand; Bill Slank has swapped the trunks! Of course, Black Stache doesn’t give up just yet and devises a master plan to find the real treasure.
Stuart’s theater department was drawn to this production due to its relatively small cast and opportunity for “an amazing challenge for a cast of women to play,” remarked Jan Baldwin. While everyone will love this two-act show, she emphasized that it is probably most appropriate for grades three through twelve and adults because Stuart is performing the full-length show, not an abridged version, with each act running around an hour.
“It’s a pretty impressive example of a modern playwright looking back into a historical genre in American theater, and thinking we are at a point where we need some community, again,” notes Jessica Kosek, the technical director for the production. She explains that this show, which premiered in 2009, is a prime example of the story theater genre that grew popular in America after the assassination of President Kennedy, when the country was searching for a deeper sense of community. Influenced by Viola Spolin, a renowned theater educator, Peter and the Starcatcher uses improvisation and theater games to create community by “playing together.”
Ms. Kosek added, “The audience will love the magic that we’ve put into it, and most of all, the audience will be amazed by the ways in which every single person on stage transforms at least once throughout the show.” In fact, the cast of Peter and the Starcatcher plays over 100 characters over the course of the show, despite the fact that there are only thirteen actors!
“This is a play about the magic of childhood,” said Ms. Kosek, “about the importance of imagination, and the way in which those things can bring us all together. I think that’s incredibly timely.”
Annika Alden-Siegel, who plays Black Stache, described her character as “fully insane” and “foppish.” Because the show is heavily dependent on physical comedy and energy-consuming movement, Annika speaks for the cast when she says that singing and remembering lines in the midst of so much activity onstage can be challenging.
The cast would like to thank Jan Baldwin for her exceptional creative vision and direction, Walt Cupit for his innovative set design, Jessica Kosek for her assistance with all technical aspects of the show, Heidi Nash for her musical guidance, our wonderful stage crew and technical helpers, and everyone else who has supported us throughout this process!
Be sure to buy your tickets for the shows on Friday, November 7th, at 7 pm and Saturday, November 8th at 3:15 pm!
