Decatur High performs Peter and the Starcatcher April 24-27

From April 24-27, Decatur High School Advanced Acting Ensemble presents the Tony-winning Peter and the Starcatcher. The play by Rick Elice explores the origins of the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan). A wildly theatrical adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s best-selling novels delivers marauding pirates and unlikely heroes as well as a larger-than-life crocodile and singing fish in mermaid drag. Peter and the Starcatcher playfully explores the depths of greed, deceit and tyranny against the powerful bonds of friendship, duty and love.

The production runs April 24-27. Tickets are available at Decatur Performs.

“This journey is fraught with danger and is brimming with physical comedy, stunts, puppetry and even unexpected moments of song and dance,” said the play’s director, Emily Nichols, praising “dedication, bravery and spirit” of the student acting ensemble. Their collaborative effort brought a “unique blend of theatrical artistry” to this all-hands-on-deck production, according to Nichols.

In Act One, an orphaned stowaway (soon to become Peter Pan) meets the play’s heroine Molly Aster, who will one day become mother to Wendy Darling (destined for her own Neverland adventure). At fifteen, Molly is training to be a Starcatcher, an elite squad of 5 ½ people with special powers to keep the magical “star stuff” out of the hands of tyrants. The friendship and sincerity of Molly and “Boy” present a foil to the violent and deceitful adult drama that plays out above the decks of rival pirate ships and amongst the trauma of colonialism.

In a world where according to Peter, “adults always lie,” and cruelty is common parlance, Molly and Peter demonstrate against all odds that there is “something more important than saving your own neck…like saving someone else’s” (Molly).

Watching these young heroes vanquish the villains is not just hopeful, it’s delightful. For not only do we see a lost child grow into the legendary leader of the Lost Boys, we also meet a youngish Black Stache, a double-crossing but still two-handed pirate in search of an arch-nemesis to elevate him into a level of infamy that will be remembered in storybooks for centuries.

Like his future Captain Hook persona, Black Stache brings more comic relief than he succeeds in cruel outcomes. Under his ruffled shirt is the soul of a poet who weaves his deceitful web in rhyme and ribaldry. In hopes of stealing the Starcatchers’ treasure chest from the pirates who first stole it, Stache defeats the rival pirate, Slank, in an epic poetry slam of sharp wits and sharper rapiers.

When Stache meets Peter their epic connection is born. “No man is an archipelago,” Stache tells him before suggesting the moniker, “Pirate Pete.” From that point on their fates are eternally linked so that even in conflict they will always belong to each other.

Assistant director and Decatur High School graduating senior, Jordan Taglialatela loves the show for its “childlike sense of wonder and tireless humor,” but also relates to the tensions between adventure and finding a home that the play explores. “I find it to be a very fitting final show as I struggle to leave the people I love and places I know behind for something different and unfamiliar,” he said. He highlighted the show’s focus on “kindness and found family, reminding audiences of the importance of empathy and support in our divided times.”

Peter and the Starcatcher Tickets at decaturperforms.org/peter

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER Is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com.