The team behind the global hit, The Play That Goes Wrong, brings their trademark comic mayhem to the J.M. Barrie classic Peter Pan. Peter Pan Goes Wrong is a highly physical comedy packed with finely-tuned and inspired slapstick, delivered with split-second timing and ambitious daring. The play sees the ‘Cornley Drama Society’ back on stage battling technical hitches, flying mishaps and cast disputes as they attempt to present J.M Barrie’s much-loved tale. But will they ever make it to Neverland?
Under the swift direction of Adam Meggido, the rollicking cast members deliver lines perfectly out of order and miss stage blocking to comic effect. In many ways, it is more challenging to waywardly fly on a harness and haphazardly roller skate upstage than to do it correctly and safely. Perhaps the show's biggest stars, though, are the actual stage managers (led by production stage manager Adam John Hunter) who employ hundreds of ill-timed sound cues (sound design by Ella Wahlström) and operate a decentered spotlight (lighting design by Matthew Haskins). This critic gives it four stars and advises you to go straight on to the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Does the shtick get old? It does and it doesn't. Director Adam Meggido moves things along at a breathless clip that almost immediately obscures any misses with other hits, and the book (by Shields, Henry Lewis, and Jonathan Sayer) nicely develops a couple of B-plots, involving cast romances and ambitions, to keep us hooked. Nancy Zamit and Henry Lewis shine as featured players in a variety of roles, making the most of the play's treasured pantomime influences. And Simon Scullion's turntable set is theme park chic at its finest, spinning wildly as the ramshackle in-show production goes hilariously awry. Is it a kids' show? I can't say it's tailored for adults, but my date and I were delighted by the sheer bravado of its joke-a-minute style, inventive design, and committed performances. And the kids around us were howling with laughter, never feeling condescended to, and even being let in on some curiously naughty jokes. Who knew going wrong would feel so right?
General Rush
Price: $45
Where: Barrymore Theatre box office on the day of the performance.
When: Available at each performance when the Box Office opens at 10AM the day of the performance.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Determined at the discretion of the box office. Subject to daily availability.
Digital Lottery:
Price: $40
Where: PanGoesWrongBway.com/Lottery
When: Entries for the Peter Pan Goes Wrong digital lottery starts at 12 AM, one day before the performance, and winners are drawn the same day at 10 AM and 3 PM
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Tickets are subject to availability.
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