Every year the Pacific Conservatory Theatre (PCPA) reserves its holiday production for the big, colorful shows that attract families and groups of friends. And this year, they’ve sprinkled in some fairy dust.
The conservatory opened the production of Disney’s musical rendition of Peter Pan in mid-November, and continues the high-flying show straight on till Dec. 23.
I enjoyed a recent matinee performance, which included many families with young kids. It was fun to see a show with youngsters, who all reacted with innocent surprise at special effects and pratfalls, but also to the young actors performing lead roles.
Peter Pan is part of Disney’s classic canon, and the rendition PCPA is working with is the Tony Award-winning classic of 1954 that was created for actress Mary Martin to perform the title character. The tradition of casting the role of Pan with a female actor has continued ever since, including at PCPA, with Acting Intern Chynna Walker taking the title role.
The unassuming bedroom of Wendy (Madison Davis), John (Maddie Almaguer or Beck Mortensen), and Michael (Joss Robertson or Claire Guyader) Darling greets the audience in the Marian Theatre, as the children’s mother, Mrs. Darling (Emily Trask), calls them all to bed. She also tells Mr. Darling (George Walker) of a strange boy she saw at the window and how she captured his shadow before they head out for the evening after singing the kids to sleep.
Ah, the simpler times, when your dog Nana (Whitney Bacon) could serve as a child care provider.
Pan makes his big entrance as the kids sleep, flying through their window and working desperately to find his lost shadow with the help of his glowing companion, the fairy Tinkerbell (Bacon). But when Pan breaks down after he’s unable to re-attach his shadow, Wendy wakes up, and her first instinct is to help the clueless boy.
Chynna Walker nails the character with her playful, carefree attitude. Peter Pan is the boy who never wanted to grow up, and so there’s a certain disconnect between him and normalcy that the young intern captures well. She’s also got some serious skills with the wire work, performing choreographed fight scenes, dance, and belting out the tunes while soaring over and around the stage and audience.
Once Pan teaches the Darling children to fly, it’s off to Never Never Land! That’s where George Walker comes back, but this time as the villainous Captain Hook, whose singular obsession is revenge against Pan for feeding his hand to a crocodile. Hook is joined by his pack of pirates, led by Smee (Amani Dorn), who are hell-bent on hunting down Pan and his gang of Lost Boys. The pirates also don’t take kindly to the native girls led by Tiger Lily (Katie Fuchs-Wackowski).
The pirates, Tiger Lily’s crew, and the Lost Boys are mostly made up of PCPA’s ensemble actors, the students, who holler out with crow calls and hearty “args” with relish. There are multiple fight scenes and dance numbers peppered throughout the musical that allow everyone a chance to shine.
George Walker’s Hook with Resident Artist Amani Dorn’s Smee make up some of the comedic peaks of the show, with Dorn’s great deadpan from under a false beard and the waxed-mustachioed antics of Hook. George Walker’s Hook is hilarious, requiring a choreographed tarantella from his scurvy crew to help him devise a plan to destroy Pan, reminding of his past performance as the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance.
And when the two Walkers (no relation) come together as Pan versus Hook, the show really explodes with exciting magic. The youngsters in the audience were on the edge of their seats for the show’s high-flying finale.
PCPA did a great job of breathing life into this play, which can feel a bit like a post-war relic with some of the subject matter and tunesmithing. And the vibrance and sense of wonder that was achieved by set designers, lighting crews, sound designers, and the wardrobe department was fantastic. The production gave a respectful nod to Disney’s classic, but also sprinkled their own secret recipe fairy dust throughout the show.Â
Managing Editor Joe Payne isn’t afraid to grow up. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 22-29, 2018.
