From left: William Ardelean (Black Stache) and Adriano Brown (Peter) in Long Beach Playhouse’s Peter and the Starcatcher
Set in 1885, the story by Rick Elice— first staged in 2011 and based on a 2004 novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson that provides a prequel to J.M. Barries’s 1904 play Peter Pan— is set mostly on two ships, The Neverland and The Wasp. Mixed up cargo, three orphan boys, pirates and one intrepid young “starcatcher” apprentice figure into the fast-paced plot.
California State University Long Beach (CSULB) student Dakota Sioux enchants as earnest 13-year-old starcatcher Molly, complemented well by fellow CSULB student Adriano Brown as the most deeply traumatized of the orphan boys, who is eventually given the name Peter. With his help, and to figuratively “earn her wings” from her father Lord Aster (Robert Amber), Molly must succeed in her mission to make sure a trunk full of transformative “star stuff” doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Also hot on the trunk trail, however, are pirates, led by the flamboyantly wicked but word-challenged Black Stache, played with gusto and verve by William Ardelean. His sidekick (and droll word-corrector), Smee, is played with equal intensity and humor by the sprightly Jazzy Jones.
Clearly enjoying their roles are the other two orphan boys who assist Molly: food-obsessed Ted (Raphael Buenaventura) and anxious-to-prove-himself Prentiss (Mia Battaglia). Chase Evans, also a CSULB student, plays some smaller roles but shines in the second half as Fighting Prawn, king of the island natives, whose language consists of Italian food names.
The three “adult” cast members help anchor the production, including Lisa J. Salas as the highly alliterative Mrs. Bumbrake, who also sings poignantly, such as the lullaby Peter remembers from his mother when he was a baby, before he comes to believe that all adults are liars.
Surprisingly simple set and props— rope, wooden boxes, toy boats, plush animals on sticks and string lights for stars— help evoke the adventurous tale. The cast members do the rest with their highly physical interactions— leaping over crates, tilting with the ship, hiking through a jungle and even swimming in the ocean.
Directed with surety by Gregory Cohen, Peter and the Starcatcher is as irresistible as the colorful mermaids— former fish, magically transformed by star stuff— who open the second half with vaudevillian song and dance. It’s a playful reminder for adults and kids alike that such transformation is always possible with a healthy dose of imagination.
Peter and the Starcatcher continues at the Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim St., through May 5, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $20 to $24. For tickets and information, call the box office at (562) 494-1014 or visit lbplayhouse.org.
