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The boy who never grows up never grows old, as "Peter Pan" comes to Riverside Dinner Theater Date published: 11/13/2008
By MARGARET LAWRENCE FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR He's been a novel, a play, a movie and a musical; he's usually played by women, and his very name invokes a male psychological malady--or a modern pop star who lives in his own bizarre Neverland. But "Peter Pan" today appears to modern audiences in his most palatable form--the story of a charming, eternal boy who refuses to grow up, and reappears to beguile generation after generation. Riverside's newly opened musical, which adheres to the Jerome Robbins staging, falls solidly in the camp of all things Disney. Threats are "just pretend" with a touch of the comic. Even Captain Hook--that dastardly one-handed pirate of panache--enters lounging, borne on a litter by his ragtag crew of motherless men. Stephen Hayes, who plays both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook (surely one of his best castings), directs with an eye for both broad audience appeal and crisp pacing. One or two moments became bogged down in the behind-the-scrim set changes, but otherwise this moves decisively from scene to scene. The first magic of note is the casting of Justin Scott as Peter Pan himself. There's a reason why women have traditionally played this role: It needs someone who is slim, able to play young and sing high. Boys who can sing high are generally too young to carry such a weighty role, but Mr. Scott combines the presence of his actual years with the appearance and voice of a much younger character. Add to that a hint of arrested masculinity, and his scenes with Wendy take on a subtly different dimension. And add to that a sweet boyish tenor and a natural stage charm, and distant memories of Mary Martin go flying out the window. The Darling children meet all expectations. Wendy (Bethany Finnegan), the self-possessed older sister and honorary mother to a passel of boys, is gifted with a crystal soprano. Her duet with Peter, "Distant Memory," is an exquisite arrangement that calls on the best of both voices. John (Cooper Shaw) and Michael (Jacob Daiger) join with the Lost Boys singing "Wendy" led by Peter, and rapidly learn the ground rules as presented in the child anthem "I Won't Grow Up."
Date published: 11/13/2008
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