We clap so that 'Peter' will move along
By Joseph T. Rosmiarek
Advertiser Drama Critic
| • | 'Peter Pan'
8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays until Dec. 21; also 3 p.m. Dec. 20 and Dec. 27; 8 p.m. Dec. 26-27; 4 p.m. Dec. 28 Diamond Head Theatre $12-$42 733-0274 |
 |
|
That's the pivotal moment in "Peter Pan," the stage musical based on the play by James M. Barrie and pumped up with additional music by Julie Styne and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Jerome Robbins choreographed the original production, which featured dancing pirates and Indians and a plucky little boy, played by Mary Martin, who flew through the air on invisible wires.
Barrie's story has the universal appeal for a blissful place called Neverland, where children don't have to grow and can enjoy fantastic adventures without rules. Original production credits include icons of 20th century Broadway theater, who created a benchmark for the story that lasted until Disney stamped it with his own cartoon style.
The show seems dated in 2003, when audiences are insufficiently theater-hardened to withstand three acts and two intermissions, and are too jaded by movie special effects to be awed by a fly system and glittery pixie dust.
Everything turns on a moment at the end of Act 2 when Peter Pan comes down to the edge of the stage, addresses the audience as individuals, and begs them to clap their hands to show they believe in fairies.
You will clap your hands. The test of the production is why you do it.
In "Peter Pan," we must accept the convention of a mature woman playing a small boy, an actor in a dog suit that guards the children, and a set of parents naive enough to leave the house — knowing that a strange boy has been trying to break into the nursery.
After swallowing that pill, the singing and dancing pirates and a ticking crocodile are a welcome relief. Then the pirates capture the lost boys and try to poison Peter Pan. Tinkerbell drinks the poison instead, and we must save her so she can help Peter save Wendy and the boys. Has the production sufficiently charmed us so that we clap with pure, childlike conviction? Or do we respond to the social pressure to be polite?
The Diamond Head production is co-directed and choreographed by John Rampage and Greg Zane. And — while it has all the right elements — its three acts and more than 2 1/2-hours seem to wear out much of the audience instead of energizing them. We clap for Tinkerbell because it's expeditious. It will allow the action to move on.
Nevertheless, "Peter Pan" continues to charm. Elizabeth Harrison plays Peter Pan with the right pre-teen bravado and, while her voice is not strong, it is good enough to carry the songs that will always be associated with Mary Martin: "I've Got to Crow," "I Won't Grow Up" and "Neverland."
