Imagination – the ability to form new ideas within one’s own mind – is a quality sorely lacking in the world around us. We surrender our imaginations to numbing fillers like video games or reality television, wondering why we just watched the very thing we just watched – a bit like regretting the bowl of Cheetos we just inhaled.
Great theater, on the other hand, engages audiences on many levels – sensory and tactile, conscious and subconscious interactions – while rousing that underused talent that we’ve parked on the couch: our imaginations. Nowhere is that stirring quality of inspiration more apparent than in the wonderful show Peter and the Starcatcher.
A “prequel” to the classic tale Peter Pan, Peter and the Starcatcher kicks off as Molly, a young teen girl and precocious “starcatcher”, is sent on parallel secret missions by her father, Lord Aster. Molly and her father must protect precious star-stuff intended for her Majesty, Queen Victoria through trials across the ocean.
Pirates and plots, storms and high seas, comedy and intrigue abound as trunks are switched, boys are lost and found, a Captain gets a Hook and Peter becomes Pan. Imagination overflows as each moment unfolds from the prior one, a jumbling tumble of funny and fearsome tales.
Peter and the Starcatcher is the perfect conclusion to our 2016/17 season especially as it follows the hit musical HAIR. When we plan our seasons we strive to strike a balance of interests, subjects and tastes. In this case, we wanted to follow HAIR – a show noted for its adult and counter-culture themes – with a show that is more family-oriented, a show that grandparents can enjoy right along with the grandkids. Peter and the Starcatcher fits that bill perfectly.
Having said that, it should be noted that while “Peter” is certainly a family show, it is definitely not a “kid’s show” like Seussical or Cinderella. Similar to the classic Peter Pan, Peter and the Starcatcher appeals to adult audience members right along with the tween-agers and teens, awakening imaginations in anyone who has ever heard a tall tale or have been told a fabulous yarn.
Join us on the funny and fierce journey of Peter and the Starcatcher. Your imagination will be glad you did.
Joe Keefe – Metropolis Executive/Artistic Director
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