"Peter and the Starcatcher" at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway

Usually when I go to NYC, I see as many Broadway shows as I can fit in, sometimes as many as four or five in a long weekend. On this most recent trip, I spent most of the time visiting friends in and out of the city, but I couldn't possibly go to NYC and not see a Broadway show! Most of what is currently playing I've either seen already (Once, Book of Mormon), was not available at the half-price TKTS line (ditto), or I had no interest in seeing (Rock of Ages, Annie, Mary Poppins and the like). The two exceptions are the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, and the five-time Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher, which falls in the slightly odd category of "play with music." We chose the latter, and I found it to be delightful, innovative, creative, and totally different from what you usually see on Broadway (which is a good thing in my book). Incorporating music (a few songs accompanied by keyboard and percussion, which also provide a soundtrack to the action), elements of physical theater (similar to Minnesota's Live Action Set and Transatlantic Love Affair), low-tech stage illusions, and good old-fashioned storytelling, it's a delightfully successful theatrical experiment.

Peter and the Starcatcher is based on the 2004 novel Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, a prequel to the Peter Pan story we're all familiar with. The play was written by Rick Elice and is directed by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers (who, along with several members of the creative team, was also responsible for the wacky and fun satire Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson). The title character is an unnamed and unloved orphan who's sold into slavery along with two other boys. They're being transported on the ship Neverland, captained by Slank and his rough and rowdy crew. Also on board are 13-year-old Molly and her nurse. Molly's father, the well-to-do and important Lord Aster, has entrusted her to the captain while he travels on a more dangerous route aboard the Wasp, on a mission for the queen.  He's transporting a trunk that unbeknownst to him has been swapped with a similar trunk of worthless sand by the devious Captain Slank. This set-up is explained to us largely in narration by various characters.

Aster's ship is overtaken by pirates, namely the dastardly Black Stache (Matthew Saldivar in a delightfully over-the-top hammy performance). He gets the key for the treasure-filled trunk from Aster, only to find sand and deduce that the trunk with the queen's treasure is on the other ship. He orders the crew to turn around and attack the Neverland. Meanwhile, back on that same ship, Molly has befriended the orphans and told them that her father is really transporting "star stuff," that must be destroyed because of its great power to turn anyone who comes in contact with it into whatever they want to be, whether good or evil. She has a secret means of communicating with her father (they're "starcatchers!"), so she and the boys help the Neverland get caught. The ship splits in two and Peter and some of the others are cast overboard!

So ends the first act. The second act takes place on an island, whose unfriendly native people speak a foreign tongue that seems to be mostly comprised of the names of Italian foods. Other dangers include crocodiles and sweet talking mermaids. Everyone is eventually reunited and must make some difficult decisions about what and whom to save. Molly and the orphan, now named Peter, save the day, but Peter realizes that he must stay on the island and remain a boy. He comes in contact with the star stuff and since what he wants most in the world is to be a normal boy, a boy he must be forever. The plot is wrapped up a little too neatly to make it fit into the Peter Pan story (Molly grows up to have children named Wendy and Michael, Black Stache loses his hand and becomes Captain Hook in a hilarious prolonged bit). But it's a sweet and engaging story with a heroine and a hero to root for.

the cast of Peter and the Starcatcher

Each member of the twelve-person cast has many roles to play and is fully committed to the story-telling. This is the fourth time I've seen the actor playing Peter - Adam Chanler-Berat (twice in the original cast of Next to Normal and in the Off-Broadway production of RENT last year). He's such an expressive and present actor, he makes Peter someone to believe in and root for. Celia Keenan-Bolger as Molly (the lone woman in the cast) is also wonderful, believably and joyfully playing a precocious British teenager despite being a grown up American woman. Other standouts, besides the aforementioned Matthew Saldivar as Black Stache, are Arnie Burton as Molly's ever-supportive Nurse and Rick Holmes as her father.

While the whole show is delightful, I enjoyed the first act more than the second. Most of the 12 actors are on stage for the entire act, playing many different roles or providing the backdrop for the scene. The ship set is nice and close in, providing an appropriate sense of claustrophobia and darkness of a sea voyage. In contrast, the island is all openness and light, and the characters are more scattered in separate groups.

What I appreciate most about Peter and the Starcatcher is that it's a really creative and fresh form of storytelling. It was easy to get tickets to this show, as opposed to the blockbuster Newsies, which is more accessible and familiar, and therefore, sold out. I wish more people would give this show a try, it's delightful for kids and adults alike. When children's entertainment is done well, and doesn't talk down to them and spoon feed them easily digestible morsels, but rather engages their brains and imaginations as participants in the storytelling experience, it's something that children of all ages, including the hated grown ups, can appreciate.

"RENT" at the New World Stages Off-Broadway

RENT is my favorite musical (as you can see in the "About Me" blurb to the right).  My obsession with the show dates back to when it premiered in 1996 and I first saw it on tour (twice) in 1997.  It's really the first musical I fell in love with as an adult and it's where I mark the beginnings of my love for theater.  I've now seen it 13 times: once on Broadway, every tour that came to St. Paul or Minneapolis (including the 2009 tour that starred original cast member Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp), and a fabulous local production at the Lab Theatre in Minneapolis last year.  So when I heard that there was a new production Off-Broadway directed by original director Michael Greif, but with a new perspective on what has become a musical theater classic, I had to see it.  And I loved the show as much as I ever have.

New World Stages is like a multiplex of Off-Broadway theater (there are six theaters in the building), and seems to be the place where Broadway shows go to downsize (Avenue Q, Million Dollar Quartet).  The stage and the house are much smaller than the Nederlander Theatre where RENT played for 12 years (making it the ninth longest running show on Broadway).  With the exception of one local production, I've only see the Broadway/touring version of the show.  And even though every time you see it's different (cast), it's also somewhat the same (costumes, sets, direction).  So it was a thrill for me to see a fresh new production with all new sets, costumes, choreography, and direction, not to mention a talented, young, (mostly) unknown cast.

For those of you who've never seen RENT before, basically it's about a group of young starving artists in New York City's East Village in the late 20th century, struggling with poverty, AIDS, love, creation, and trying to find their place in the world.  It was written by the late Jonathan Larson (he died the night before the Off-Broadway premiere of the show in 1996), and is based on the opera La Boheme. 


with Adam Chanler-Berat (Mark)

This cast is young and talented.  Annaleigh Ashford is perhaps the best Maureen I've ever seen (with the caveat that I've never seen the original Maureen, Idina Menzel, perform the role).  She's delightfully kooky and has one of those voices that she just effortlessly throws around for comedy, when in reality it takes a lot of skill and control to sing well comedically.  She has a great match in Corbin Reid's Joanne; their duet "Take Me or Leave Me" is a highlight.  Matt Shingledecker and Adam Chanler-Berat are a well matched Roger and Mark, respectively, and well cast for their roles.  Adam is the one cast member I knew before seeing this show; he originated the role of Henry in Next to Normal ("perfect for you....").  He makes a really good Mark (my favorite character); the Mark/Roger duets were great as was the Mark/Joanne duet "Tango Maureen."  We had an understudy for Collins, Marcus Paul James, and he was wonderful (as understudies often are, I find).  As I told him at the stage door, the second act reprise of "I'll Cover You" always gets to me, and his version was no exception.  The casting was very well done for all of the roles, with the possible exception of Mimi.  Arianda Fernandez's performance is ferocious, but lacks the vulnerability needed to make the audience care about what happens to her.  It's a difficult line to walk.

The Off-Broadway stage is smaller with not as much room to run around as the Broadway stage, but they make good use of the vertical space.  It reminds me of a smaller version of Next to Normal (not surprising since Michael Greif directed that as well, and they share the same set designer, Mark Wendland), with its multiple levels and stairways.  The sparse furniture of the original show, consisting of long tables and folding chairs, has been replaced with actual desks and chairs and moving set pieces.  The iconic costumes have been changed, but still retain the spirit of each character.  Upon seeing each them I'd think - that looks like something Mark would wear, even though I haven't seen him wear it before.


with Matt Shingledecker (Roger)

When I met the cast at the stage door I was shocked at how young they looked, as did most of the fans waiting for them (I guess I looked that young 15 years ago when I first saw the show).  I'm a first generation RENThead, but it's pretty cool that there's a whole new generation of young people falling in love with the musical for the first time.  There were plenty of empty seats on a Friday night, so if you're in town definitely check it out.  You can most likely get discount tickets at the TKTS booth.  This show has such heart, and such a feeling of friendship and togetherness and living in the moment (made even more poignant by knowing the creator's story).  This new production captures that spirit beautifully.  It's still the musical that I've loved for 15 years, but a new creation too.

No day but today!