Peter Pan at Washington Christian Academy

by Anuja Shah - Montgomery Blair High School

selected for The Sentinel

 

When Director Amanda Westly of Washington Christian Academy learned that arrangements could not be made for her cast of “Peter Pan” to fly during performances, she decided the show’s magic would come from its message. Accordingly, her playbill notes conclude by dedicating the show “to the lost boys and girls of our own time.”

It’s fair to imagine the lost boys and girls of our time are touched.

The story is simple: it is one of basic friendship, of youth challenged by the need for a child to grow up. Peter Pan will not grow up. His "mother" and friend Wendy cannot help but grow up. The ensuing dialogue is touching-- and from a script prepared exculsively for the Royal Shakespeare company almost 25 years ago, which was itself adapted from an orignal script over a century old. “Peter Pan” demands a tremendous amount of effort and dedication if any meaningful message at all is to be conveyed.

As such, Peter (Todd Lees) was a versatile messenger. Believably boyish in roughness as well as vulnerability, the self-proclaimed “Captain of the Lost Boys” was a symbol of eternal youth and innocence. Peter’s animated band of Lost Boys were enjoyable to watch, and peppered the performance with their own rebellious brand of Neverland comedy, while remaining adorably dependent on the love of their adopted mother. Their beloved “mother,” Wendy Darling (Kayte Dzime-Assison), sparkled. Sweet-voiced and vivacious, she was completely endearing.

When it comes to fantasy, it is important to consider how a story is established. As Storyteller, Zachary Labutta was, rather than commanding, compelling. Though more-than-familiar with the story of Peter Pan and Wendy Darling, he seemed thrilled to relate the tale, as though captivated by his own words. Instantly, the story had an irresistable appeal. Set on an island of Pirates, Indians, mermaids, and fairies, how could it not?

Bringing the Island (as well as the Darling household) to life was a notably silent and invisible stage crew.

As each passing adventure on the island brought Peter and Wendy closer, the story’s focus shifted a bit, to examine the dynamic of the Pirates. Though rough-and-tough and tattooed-all-over, the Pirates seemed only to be older versions of the lost boys-- boys grown up without a mother, and, though men, still very much lost. Notably, even Captain Hook (Travis Morse) elicited sympathy. Before things got too weighty, Hook’s sidekick Smee (Ben Opeka) quickly brought on comic relief, and with Gentleman Starkey (Jared Hoobler), earned many laughs.

Fair warning: the hardest plays to perform are classics. The more popular a show is, the more preconcieved expectations threaten a director’s interpretation of the story. In this case, however, the audience was so familiar with the play that before the line “Clap if you believe in fairies!” was ever uttered, applause crescendoed throughout the house.

With simple special effects, effective (but certainly not extravagant) lighting and sound designs, a practical set, and a cast of surprisingly young students, the Washington Christian Academy’s take on “Peter Pan” appealed to the viewer’s sense of imagination, challenging even the most grown-up of grown-ups (and the most lost of children) to believe, if only for three hours, in the vastness of a world of make-believe, and, most importantly, happy endings for all of the world’s lost boys.