Beck Center’s ‘Peter Pan’ is unusual holiday treat
By Art Thomas
Insights
Published Dec. 17, 2008

America, which created the form of musical theater, has a load of traditional musicals. “Peter Pan,” currently on stage at the Beck Center, is not traditional in many ways. The Beck Center production works to serve the very difficult show.

On the surface, “Peter Pan” is the story of a boy who won’t grow up, lives in Neverland, and has adventures that children dream of. Pirates, Indians, and a fairy friend are Peter Pan’s world and have enchanted children for over a century.

James Barrie wrote the play on which the musical is based. Of the Edwardian era, “Peter Pan” has enough hidden psychological situations to inspire a dozen dissertations for aspiring therapists.

At the Beck Center, director Fred Sternfeld cast a young man as Peter Pan. John Paul Sato proves that the score for the musical can fit nicely in a male’s vocal range, and all of the discussions between Peter and Wendy about being a mother, living with the boys forever and kissing have more resonance with a male Peter Pan.

Kelly Smith’s Wendy is so ingenuous that she moves effortlessly between the pseudo-mother playing a role, and a young woman who takes the maternal role seriously. Sadly, Smith and Sato, excellent separately in their roles, don’t generate any sort of “chemistry,” and their voices don’t match well either.

Michael Mauldin is a stern and sometimes gruff Mr. Darling, but as Captain Hook he is the perfect broad-based villain. Barrie wrote truly chilling lines for Hook as he talks of murder, drowning and other gruesome deaths. In fact, characters do die in the production, but Mauldin’s comic edge takes the real edge off the situations.

There are three distinct choruses. A group of lost boys get to have most of the fun, and this crew is constantly mugging, moving and generally having a great time. The children in the audience respond in turn. There’s a half dozen distinct pirates backing up Captain Hook, each with his own personality. One has 20th century spiked hair, and the usually goofy Mr. Smee is a creepy gothlike sidekick. Finally, ladies have their turn as Indians, led by Alexis Generette Floyd as Tiger Lily.

Something needs to be said about the flying effects. The weaknesses of the “Flying by Foy” standard are magnified with a newer company that supplies the Beck Center. Even the literal-minded children in the audience work far too hard to not see the clothlesline sized wires. They hook to the performers with a mechanism larger than the giant insulators at an electric substation.

Betty Comden and Adolph Green were never better than their clever lyrics for Jule Styne’s haunting score. Large chunks of the dialogue come directly from Barrie’s play, and the Beck Center does not cut much. The production runs nearly three hours.

This “Peter Pan” could use some cutting. Martin Cespedes, everyone’s favorite choreographer, was asked to fill every measure of dance music in the show, and it strained his formerly limitless creativity. Everyone will enjoy Ben Needham’s handsome set, based on every production of “Peter Pan” we have ever seen.

As always, musical director Larry Goodpasture has talented musicians in the scaled down orchestra. Climactic moments rely more on amped-up keyboards than a full string section.

Even if your children can’t last through it, consider seeing this energized “Peter Pan.” It runs through Jan. 4.

On the Web:

• Beck Center for the Arts