Rooted firmly in the mustache trend of 2012, Peter and the Starcatcher–“a play with music”--by Rick Elice (based loosely on the nearly eponymous novel, Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson) highlights the most mustachioed villain of the turn of the last century. The show, which tells a fictional origin story of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and the gang, showcases a Captain Hook that is less motivated by pedicide and more by vaudevillian villainy. Directed by Katherine Ray, the Ridgefield Theater Barn presents this piece by reveling in the sheer play pretend of childhood and launches the pantomimic ship into a delightful trip across the seas of imagination.
Matt Austin gives a glorious star turn as the single-handed notorious fairyland baddie, Black Stache, the Captain’s moniker based on his most distinguishing feature before he was hooked. Austin cheerfully chomps the scenes in crocodilian fashion as he goes. If the mustache wasn’t purposely painted on, he would surely twirl it. However, this show serves as a solid company showcase. Everyone gets a go at some campy dialogue, comic buffoonery, or pertinent storytelling. The play is set up like a British panto or bus and truck show with the company inviting the audience to hear the tale of Peter Pan if he existed independently of the stories. Here, the players unfold a far too speedy prologue that has little visual or light transition from modern-ish times to the action of the play. We get expository world building, then on to Britain with our crew of not yet lost boys in flashback, and suddenly, to the high seas, teetering from reality to story unevenly with a touch of motion sickness. That is, until Michael Valinoti and his derby firmly anchor us into the tale playing Grempkin, one of the awful adults who leads to Peter Pan’s eventual hatred of grown ups. He commits without falter to all of the roles he inhabits, from ferocious to foppish, with ease, and shoves us on our way.
From here, we ride the waves with the cast of characters on the delightful accompaniment by Music Director Rodney Loren on keyboard and (to this reviewer) an uncredited superstar musician on wacky percussion (frog güiro, vibra-slap, thunder tubes). There are songs and dances that are goofy and delightful. The show could be Gilbert and Sullivan’s little cousin with its across the board silliness and joy mingled with fussy language and complicated plot construction. Choreographer Sharon Houk puts the cast through the paces of some cute cute cute full musical numbers to lend to the “we’re putting on a show!” energy of a traveling fairy tale theater. Particularly whimsical is the mermaid number, where costume designer Renee Purdy may have had the most fun combining pieces from all eras and camps, emphasis on camp. Austin’s flared mermaid pants are covetable.
This show is abundant with great (and not so) Great British accents–Dr. Cara Elizabeth Bunning doing multiple national duties with various regions (both land and sea) brilliantly as Mrs. Bumbrake, complete with St. Bernard Nana’s iconic bonnet, among others. Bunning is also wonderful with each role she inhabits, demonstrating nuance and specificity of character. Actors are exuberant and there are more than a few stars that twinkle brighter than the starry set. Olivia Basile as a persnickety Prentiss and Hannah Rapaglia as the half-witted and hungry Ted continue the vaudevillian vein, with Basile setting up the “straight” lines and Rapaglia landing the punchlines beautifully. They are both phenomenal separately and together. As lost-ish boys who travel with the eventual Pan, they form legs of a theatrical triumvirate with Alex Hartofelis as Boy, who will become Peter, at the peak. Hartofelis’s performance is subtle and grounded. There is a glimmer of the future archetype, but just a flash. Here is how he starts: a stranded orphan betrayed and abused by adults, and not yet touched by the fairy dust that will lift him as an icon for immaturity and whimsy, and Hartofelis handles the feat solidly. To counter the boy's camp of boyness is Laura Jeanne Portera as Molly Aster: a Hermione Granger-esque sort who knows-it-alls it throughout the play, keeping the star stuff by which fairy tales will emerge close to her heart. Her rapid delivery has so much wiseacreage that at times the comedy was mowed down, and given how close the audience is, we can see her break connection to the scene once she is quiet. Still, she has to do the majority of the work in keeping this batty ship of plot straight, and the speed pays off in an epic run. The lines are so accelerated that you fear she’s going to blow a gasket.
Given the fuel of the show is a childlike imagination, sets and props are both spot on and suggested with common materials denoting the surf and turf of place. Here and there is a piece piratical or island-esque, and the show makes great use of a rolling ladder, some crates, and ropes to take the plot from scene to scene. Fishnetting, accordion-fold decorations, and Edison light patio strings festoon the stage and audience space. Speaking of, it is the lighting, designed by Mark Hankla, that is truly magical and perfect with dappled oceans, sporadic spots, and dreamy night skies.
Peter and the Starcatcher runs until June 25, 2022 at the Ridgefield Theater Barn, 37 Halpin Ln, Ridgefield, CT, 06877. Proof of vaccination required. RTC asks that when not eating or drinking, masks be worn and they have been diligent in following COVID protocols for safety, cleanliness, and peace of mind. As this show features entrances through the audience, this is a considerate practice for the actors. For the photosensitive, please note strobe light effects will be used in the show. All shows are in the evening with an 8PM start. Doors open one hour prior to the show for the audience to bring food and drink to enjoy. Tickets available at ridgefieldtheaterbarn.org or by calling the box office at 203-431-9850. For more information, email boxoffice@ridgefieldtheaterbarn.org