Peter and the Starcatcher
Following seasons in Melbourne and Adelaide, Peter and the Starcatcher lands on stage at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre filled with twinkling lights, a flurry of colourful puppets, a hardworking cast of twelve, and a promise of whimsy and adventure. But while this over-saturated prequel to the famous story of Peter Pan does offer up some dazzling moments of creative stagecraft, colourful puppetry, and cheerfully comedic performances, it never quite takes flight.
This swashbuckling play (that’s right, it’s not a musical, although it does incorporate some lovely live music) offers flashes of theatrical magic and fun – the school of silly, fabulous mermaids who populate the second act are particularly entertaining as they kick and twirl in their silver platform boots adorned with tail fins (they’ve all freshly been magically transformed from fish by the magic of “starstuff”, you see). However, audiences young and old alike may struggle to find a foothold for their sea legs as they attempt to follow along with the baffling and abrasive series of events. All the while, the cast narrates us through this seafaring story as if reciting words out of a book, but that somehow doesn’t help.
Originally commissioned and produced by Disney Theatrical Group, Rick Elice (co-writer of Jersey Boys) adapted Starcatcher for the stage from the 2004 novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. The show swashbuckles its way to Australian shores after picking up five Tony Awards from its time on Broadway...