BWW Reviews: PETER & THE STARCATCHER Flies at Theatreworks

Peter and the Starcatcher may not match your idea of the perfect Christmas show, but it's certainly best friends with the holidays. An emotional and inspirational experience awaits at Theatreworks' production of the Pan prequel. And there's always the company's faux snow after each performance.

Adult critics who found fault with NBC's Peter Pan Live! will find far more to enjoy in Palo Alto, while other viewers, like a certain young boy in the fourth row at Sunday's matinee performance, will arrive with fresh eyes full of magic and wonder.

Pirates, Captains and Lost Boys narrate stories of valuable Starstuff, transformed Mermaids and a giant Crocodile, using bodies and various random household items as props. Theatreworks does not quite equal the genius of the original Broadway version, but scenic and costume designers still turn out innovative pieces (and brilliant crows nests) for director Robert Kelley to play with in his staging. And since Peter Pan revolves around childhood dreams, Peter and the Starcatcher seamlessly weaves imagination and reality.

Here we have perfect, over-the-top comedy facilitated by sound effects and side-splitting actors: standout Ron Campbell as the nanny, Patrick Kelly Jones as the pirate captain with loads of panache and a famous Black Stache, a melodramatic Suzanne Grodner as a very enthusiastic Smee, Adrienne Walters as the spunky and smart Starcatcher Apprentice Molly, the adorable Cyril Jamal Cooper as the hungry boy Ted, and Tim Homsley as the conflicted Boy who becomes Peter Pan.

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PETER AND THE STARCATCHER
Theatreworks
Through January 3
http://theatreworks.org/

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Photo Credit: Kenny Toll, Christopher Reber, Patrick Kelly Jones, Suzanne Grodner, and Michael Gene Sullivan perform the mermaid dance in the TheatreWorks production of PETER AND THE STARCATCHER playing December 3, 2014 - January 3, 2015 at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto.