This producton had dual casts in principal roles. In the interest of fairness to all, we reviewed both casts. Alan Shepley reviewed the Lost cast and Allison Thomas reviewed the Bravo cast.
Lost Cast
Every one in the large cast of NOW Production’s opening performance of “Peter Pan Jr” may well have missed a day of school attendance but it was a day and an experience that none of them will forget! The Shedley Theatre was packed to the rafters with students from nearby schools that had been bussed in to see their show. Has education ever been so good? The attentive and very well behaved audience was not only fully engaged, but as the story played out before them they also reacted on cue as per pre-show instructions.
In line with their usual and admirable philosophy NOW has placed production responsibilities in the hands of a young team. Lily Cotton is Director with Flick Barry as her assistant. Rhys Young is MD in charge of vocals, the routines are well choreographed by Molly Richardson whilst all matters back stage are in the hands of SM Jordan Pitt. This team can be justifiably proud of their combined effort in staging “Peter Pan Jr”. Your audience loved it! The set, designed by Joe Russell is the essence of simplicity as well as practicality. It looks good in its three main iterations: as the Darling children’s bedroom, The Neverland home of the Lost Boys and as Hook’s pirate galleon. The large family pooch “Nana” (created by Renee Swift) and the super large and fierce crocodile (created by Emily Lauro) were perfectly placed and used within the narrative. Both are beautifully crafted but I must say that the croc is a work of genius. He is magnificent. It’s little wonder Hook is terrified of him! It’s certainly “hands off” as far as that Pirate Captain is concerned! Both creatures are smartly and astutely operated/puppeteered by AD Flick Barry. The croc all but parted with his nether regions in his second appearance but a quick response from Barry saved the day! I would have liked to have seen him menace the audience a little more. Both animals were enthusiastically hailed by the young audience. Wardrobe by Sarah Harry is spot on colourful for all the range of characters both principals and ensemble.
NOW Productions, as they mostly do in their Youth offerings, fields a very large cast. In this production discipline in both voice and movement is evident throughout the show. There are some memorable chorus numbers like “Neverland” (Peter and Company), “Hook’s Tango” (Captain Hook and his pirates) and “Ugh-a-Wugh” (Peter, Tiger Lily with all the boys and girls). All aspects technical, especially lighting and sound levels, work smoothly and the timing for Tinker Bell’s activity was always on the money.
I saw the “Lost” cast on Friday morning. The three Darling children Wendy (Paetyn Slater), John (Edison Dutch) and young Michael (Lucy Harry) are an excellent family trio. They combined with notable stage chemistry and I especially liked the presentation of their number “I’m Flying” together with a well lifted Peter Pan. Both the song and the flying effect worked a treat. Their mother Mrs Darling is played by Anna Restall with confident voice and warm manner. Kasidey Ryan as the rather exotic Tiger Lily, helpful friend to both Peter and Wendy, also demonstrates a natural feel for her stage-work. She is a notable strong voice within the Brave Girls and Lost Boys. Annabelle Davies as Smee and Amber Murphy as Liza are both worthy contributors to the fun and daring do in Neverland.
Owen Fagan played his twin roles with an astute character interpretation. He is, on the one hand an amenable father figure as Mr Darling whilst he then swashbuckles his way across the stage as a menacing Captain Hook. Fagan demonstrates good understanding of both timing and diction. His vocal rendition of “Hook’s Tango” with his dastardly pirate crew is excellent. An admirable performance. Ava Heinze invests her performance as the mercurial Peter Pan with youthful zest and energy. She attacked her singing contributions with a voice both strong and true. This was all well transmitted to her audience so they might for a while believe that a boy could fly. Well done!
All in all “Peter Pan” was a great theatre experience for young and old alike. I haven’t had so much fun since the last time I “walked the plank!” Wot Larks!
Bravo Cast
Bravo to the Bravo cast of NOW Productions “Peter Pan Jr”! They captured the exuberance and magic of the classic story, complete with scary crocodile and friendly dog, Nana.
Molly Richardson’s choreography was simple and fun and well executed by each group of 10 to 20 people on stage at any one time. Nana the dog puppet and the scary crocodile were well acted by (or with) Flick Barry’s skillful manoeuvring.
Gracie Cheung was outstandingly cheeky, playful and vigorous as Peter Pan, admirably combining her expressions in song, dance and diction.
Zachary Occihiuto’s height and arrogant stance made him a natural choice for Captain Hook and earned him a laugh when he extricated himself from Nana’s dog kennel as Mr. Darling.
Annabelle Coulson’s gentle portrayal as Wendy was a nurturing influence to her brothers and the Lost Boys. Jasper Dutch, as bespectacled John, the older brother, played his part well. Baby Michael was performed by Abigail Carr, who was very endearing with her teddy bear and her words, actions and songs. Arabella Rimmer played the fierce pirate, Smee, with zest and cheekiness. Alysha Johnson’s Tiger Lily was a great dancer. Tabitha Victory, as Mrs. Darling, was a very serious mother. Liza the maid played by Abbey Murray-Cotton, was an appropriate servant to the Darling family.
The audience were loud and reacted enthusiastically to appropriate cues and applauded all the songs. They loved the use of stairs and when the performers came into the audience. Audio/visual special effects of Tinkerbell were excellent.
A wonderful enthusiastic production by teenage Directors and performers. Well done to the whole team.
