BWW Interviews: Robert Butters, Producer of Peter Pan at Atlanta’s Pemberton Place, beginning January 21.

For many people, old and young alike, the story of Peter Pan brings up very distinct images: the Darling children flying off with Peter to Neverland, the irascible Captain Hook and his band of surly pirates, or the mischevious fairy, Tinkerbell. These memories come from years of tellings and re-tellings of this classic story, but new memories will be created for theater-goers when the latest production of Peter Pan comes to Atlanta January 21 through April 10.  Performing in a state-of-the-art tented structure in Pemberton Place (downtown, between the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium) this production, which utilizes 360 degrees of CGI graphics and state of the art technology to immerse the audience in the world of Peter Pan, is sure to amaze. To learn about the production and its journey to Atlanta, we spoke with Robert Butters, one of the producers of the show and found out what we can expect when Peter and friends fly into Atlanta later this month.

BWW: Robert, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today. I am excited to hear about Peter Pan and I know our readers will be too.

Robert Butters: Great!

Tell us a little about the show. How would you describe the production to someone who hasn’t heard about it?

It’s a new contemporary version of Peter Pan. The difference from a lot of past versions is we are also the venue. We have a 1340 seat tented structure that was designed with the poles on the outside. That allows for unencumbered flight so that Peter Pan can take everyone there on a journey. The designer, Bill Dudley, took the inside of the tent and created computer generated imagery to give you 360 degree CGI. So what you’ve got is a really unusual and contemporary way of telling this story. It’s in the round, so the CGI, alongside the overall narrative of Peter Pan, allows you to experience the story in a way that wasn’t available 100 years ago. Our show played a successful run in Kensington Gardens in London in 2009. Again, because we are in a tent, we have the ability to locate the tent in downtown areas and part of what we wanted to do was bring this story into highly visible locations downtown. We did 19 weeks in San Francisco, and then moved to Orange County; following that we will move to Atlanta and then to Chicago. This show is a play that is very true to the original J M Barrie story. What we have done is try to tell it in a way that both adults and children can enjoy. We really took a great amount of detail in making sure that the experience within our theatre is complete. We also have a very cinematic score, written by Benjamin Wallfisch that is really sweeping. It really is an amazing story that appeals to everyone.

As far as audiences go, have you noticed similar reactions to the show in the locations you have played so far?

They are a little different. We found that the audience in Orange County seemed to be slightly older in terms of composition. In San Francisco we had quite a few tourists due to the time of year. What we found that was consistent was the audiences’ reaction to the overall experience. Because we run the theatre we are also the front of house, and people comment to us that our staff really begin to make the experience great from the moment they arrive on site. We have an exhibition, “100 Years of Peter Pan” that is free and open to the public, which gives people a little bit more to do when they arrive. There is also a really nice outdoor area that we set up for people to come, have picnics, and not feel like they have to arrive ten minutes before the show starts and get into their seats. We are not limited by a building, so I think the experience in all of our locations has been really positive.

So would you recommend to people coming to the show that they plan on arriving a little early to try and take advantage of those things?

Yes, definitely. Also, because we are in highly visible locations, we find that when people come early they really enhance their experience. We do something called “Enter Neverland” on matinee days where we do  a 60 minutes behind the scenes on how the show was created. That runs two hours before the show. We have tried to make people feel like they can come and spend a bit more time than just seeing the show. They can come see “Enter Neverland”, have lunch, see the show and make it a day. The location for Atlanta is Pemberton Place, so we are right near the Georgia Aquarium and right by the World of Coke. It is very unusual for a piece of theatre to be in that location and the only way you can do it is if you have your own space.

Let’s talk a little about bringing the show to Atlanta. How were we chosen as the fourth stop of this worldwide tour?

Atlanta has a really great cultural and theatre history. I think a number of shows that have preceded us often say it was their best location. Also, I think Atlanta responds well to things in a tent or in an unconventional t

 

heatre location. For us, it is the first step east, and we really feel like at that time of year, just before spring and coming out of winter, the city will really get behind the production. I think when the production starts in Atlanta, Atlantans will become part of owning it. That happened in San Francisco. When we got there, we were really encouraged by how San Francisco took ownership and wanted it to be a big event in the city. I think Atlanta has that sort of DNA already.

You were talking about the front of house staff earlier. Do you bring those staff with you on the tour? 

No, we hire thEm Locally. It’s really important to us that we integrate into the local community. We bring our front of house managers and our merchandise managers but hire the rest locally. We also work closely with local groups, such as the ambassadors from the World of Coke. The people that come to work are also great word of mouth for us. They are locals and are out there telling people that they should come to the show, spreading goodwill and good information.

We talked a little about the process of mounting the show, but what about the creative process? Specifically, how did the show itself come to life?

Two of my collegues, Matt Churchill and Charlie Bernell had an idea to do a tented production in Kensington Gardens and “Peter Pan” was the natural story that resonated. The creative team, the director Ben Harris and the set designer Bill Dudley took a very unique approach to the overall design. For example, all of the puppets are all made from things that you would find in the nursery. The crocodile is made of coat hangers. We have an ostrich with a shuttlecock for a beakand a skipping rope for its body. And for the flying, we chose to have two wires and to use a coat hanger system. We did that so even though you can see the wires, it allows the cast to fly unencumbered and to be like children. We asked the cast to act in a way that allows people to suspend that belief. Peter Pan is all about that imagination. The creative team did a really good job using those tools and giving everyone the opportunity to be a part of making sure it’s all about imagination

With a story like Peter Pan, you likely have people coming to the show who are fans, so that has to be a plus in some ways for you.

Very much so, however, as with everything you have a challenge to make this your own. From our concept we are really keen to develop a number of shows in this format, Peter Pan being the first, and to tell these great stories in our own way. When earlier productions of Peter Pan first started touring, they wouldn’t have been able to do 360 CGI and a lot of the other things we are doing, so we ask ourselves how do we tell this story today with all the tools currently available to us.

When you first started creating the show, was it always the plan to take it on tour?

Yes, it was always about being on tour. If you look back in theatre history it is very difficult to have a sit-down production of a family piece of entertainment that can sustain itself. There aren’t many family shows on Broadway that are long-running. The plan was really to sit down in a city for an extended period of time to make the move costs make sense. We are thrilled to have been in San Francisco for 19 weeks and to be in Atlanta for 11 weeks. That is enough time to build word of mouth, and is enough time to leave people saying great things about our production.

And following Atlanta you go to Chicago. Do you have other cities lined up after that?

We do, we will probably be on the east coast for the remainder of 2011. When the weather gets colder we tend to swing west or south. Because of the show and its success, there are a number of markets available to us that can support eight to ten weeks. Thankfully, the U.S. is big enough that we can hopefully run for three to four years or so.

And you are not limited by existing space.

Exactly. Which is whey when we came to Atlanta, we just felt like Pemberton Place was the right location. We could have gone to Atlantic Station, but we like to go places where other people haven’t been and places people will think are unique and different.

You mentioned that there are other stories you would like to tell eventually. Any you can share?

Not quite yet. We are very close to securing our next title. By the time we are in Atlanta we will probably be confident enough to announce what will be up next.

Robert, I appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Is there anything else you would like audiences to know about Peter Pan?

Just that the whole experience is about about people coming as a family and taking away the feeling that they have had an experience. Also, the fact that we are in a unique location so people can, hopefully,  take advantage of what’s around us when they come down as well.

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For more information about PETER PAN, please visit www.peterpantheshow.com

threesixty° entertainment’s Peter Pan will play in Pemberton Place^®, adjacent to World of Coca-Cola^®,  beginning Friday, January 21 – Sunday, April 10, 2011.  Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now at www.peterpanshow.com/atlanta or by calling 1-888-ppantix (1-888-772-6849). For groups of 12 or more please call 404.881.2000. Ticket prices range from $35 - $75 with premium and child (under 12) pricing available. 

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Production photo by Kevin Berne

 

 

 

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