By Shari Barrett
The high-flying musical Peter Pan has been thrilling audiences of all ages for close to 70 years and is now being brought back to life in a newly-imagined, family-friendly production directed by Emmy Award winner Lonny Price with additional book by celebrated playwright Larissa FastHorse and choreography by Lorin Latarro in its Los Angeles Premiere at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre through July 28. “Peter Pan is one of the great treasures of the American Musical Theatre,” said Lonny Price. “The show nurtures and inspires the imagination of its audience and reminds us to keep alive the child within us all.”
The adventure begins when Peter Pan and his mischievous fairy sidekick, Tinker Bell, visit the nursery of the Darling children late one night. With a sprinkle of pixie dust and a few happy thoughts, the children are taken on a magical journey they will never forget. This extraordinary musical full of excitement and adventure features iconic and timeless songs including “I’m Flying”, “I Gotta Crow”, “I Won’t Grow Up” and “Neverland”. Peter Pan embraces the child in us all so go on a journey from the second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning – your entire family will be Hooked!
Starring 17-year-old Nolan Almeida who totally embodies the youthful spirit and imagination of Peter Pan, with Cody Garcia as Captain Hook, Emerson College graduate Hawa Kamara as Wendy, and acclaimed recording artist Raye Zaragoza as Tiger Lily, the full cast features Shefali Deshpande as Mrs. Darling, Kurt Perry as the pirate Smee, William Foon and Micah Turner Lee alternating as Darling brother John, and Reed Epley and Camden Kwok alternating as the teddy-bear-bearing brother Michael. More than a dozen talented ensemble members portray The Lost Boys, Pirates, and the followers of Tiger Lily who shine in the Act 1 finale “Friends Forever” performed with her and Peter Pan as they unite to rid Neverland of Captain Hook.
A wonderful 15-member orchestra conducted by keyboardist Johnathan Marro, and fantastic, 3D technological scenic design by Anna Louizos, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, costume design by Sarafina Rush, projections designed by David Bengali, sound design by Kai Harada, with Tinker Bell design by Paul Kieve, make this production a feast for the eyes, ears, and heart that will mesmerize anyone lucky enough to be in the audience!
Peter Pan is presented by Broadway in Hollywood and NETworks Presentations. Tickets are available for the Pantages Theatre at www.BroadwayInHollywood.com or www.Ticketmaster.com, via phone at 800-982-2787 or in person at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre box office at 6233 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles 90028. The show then flies into the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa 92626, from August 6-18. Tickets are available online at www.SCFTA.org, by phone at 714-755-0236, or in person at the box office. For the performance schedule, please visit https://www.broadwayinhollywood.com/events/detail/peterpan. Please note children under 5 will not be admitted into the theaters. All persons entering the theatre, regardless of age, must have a ticket. Run time is 2 hours and 10 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission. Production contains haze and low fog and flashing lights.
Disney’s family-friendly musical Beauty and the Beast with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, is the classic story of Belle, a beautiful young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a handsome young prince trapped by a horrendous spell placed upon him by an enchantress for turning her out into the cold rather than providing her shelter in his castle. The life-affirming story centers around how Belle teaches the Beast to learn to love and be loved so the curse will end and the prince will be transformed back into his former self. But time to accomplish his transformation is running out, as noted by an enchanted red rose in the castle’s West Wing which is losing its petals.
To complicate matters, Belle is being pursued by Gaston, a super-muscular and horribly self-centered young man who is pursued by every other young woman for his physical charms, other than Belle who is more interested in reading her beloved books and supporting her father Maurice in his pursuit to become a great inventor. Resisting Gaston‘s marriage proposal does not sit well with him, so he enlists the help of his sidekick LeFou to steal Maurice away and leave him in the woods. Once there alone, poor Maurice is attacked by wolves and barely escapes with his life to search for shelter, which leads him to the Beast’s castle. And it is Belle’s search for her father that leads her to find him in the dungeon, where she soon falls in love with the Beast’s enchanted castle, its dancing and singing household staff, and the Beast himself. But not if Gaston can intercede.
The show features 26 in-person musicians conducted by Rick Heckman, a cast of 15 featured performers and an ensemble of 40 actors of all ages, each directed and choreographed to perfection by Angela Asch, assisted by a production crew and backstage team of wonder workers who flawlessly assist in keeping the show moving smoothly between scene changes. The enthusiastic cast is led by lovely, angelic-voiced, triple-threat performer Lauryn Muraida as Belle, Thatcher Horrocks who brings just the right mix of brutality and humanity to the Beast (highlighted during his Act 1 closing solo “If I Can’t Love Her”), handsome and muscular Evan Cooper as Gaston, master of physical comedy Jeff Asch as his comical sidekick LeFou, Kevin Wheaton as Belle’s father Maurice, Brendan Lynch as the French candelabra Lumiere, Bob Minnichelli as Cogsworth the very British clock, Julia Conway as the Cockney tea pot Mrs. Potts who gloriously sings the title song to celebrate the love which has grown between Belle and the Beast, Kayla Anjali and James Kelly sharing the role of Chip the tea cup, Jenn Greenwood as the opera-singing vanity Madame La Grande Bouche, Isabella Francisco as sexy Babette the French maid, Bob Walatka as the evil Monsieur D’Arque, and Grace Cass, Kelly Gov, Clare Houston, and Ariel Swift as the comical Silly Girls who pursue Gaston to the best of their flirty abilities.
Monumental kudos go to the entire ensemble who go from provincial peasants to magical creatures in the woods, then sing and dance as forks, knives, spoons, plates, salt and pepper shakers, as well as an assortment of kitchen utensils during the entertaining “Be Our Guest.” I also enjoyed the ensemble’s complicated choreography during Gaston and LeFou’s beer stein tapping number “Gaston” and the show’s opening number “Belle.”
The Aerospace Players production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a wonderful way to introduce your children to the wonders of a live stage musical at affordable prices. Performances continue at the James Armstrong Theater, 3330 Civic Center Drive in Torrance, 90503 on Thursday July 25 at 7:30 p.m., Friday July 26 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday July 27 at 2 p.m.. For more information and tickets, visit http://aeroplayers.org/
On Sunday, July 28 at 7pm, I am producing a reading of Grant Gottschall’s Dog Door, a funny, smart and ultimately moving play about radical acceptance and the power of telling your own story, reflecting on how canine behavior, needs and emotions intersect with our own. The reading is free to attend (donations appreciated) with a pre-show reception beginning at 6:30pm on the outdoor patio. Directed by Genny Wilson at the Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Ave., L.A. 90045, the cast features Greg Abbott (Narrator), Deonté Allen (Bogie), Jayla Bryant (Happy), Jason Paul Evans (Bubba Joe), Dee Freeman (Stella), Alexis Martino (Lily), and Jerry Weil (King Rex). Find out what happens when four seemingly random dogs find themselves in a room with only one way out. But the dog door is locked and they can’t leave until they’ve bonded together as a Pack. Fortunately, a fifth dog, Stella, a former military K-9, is there to help. But when Happy, an uncontrollable and foul-smelling stray joins them, the group is thrown into chaos. Can these canines discover the one thing that unites them so they can leave together? Those with reservations at https://dogdoorplay.ticketspice.com/dog-door will be seated first.
