The two main features of the production of "Peter Pan" now at Diamond Head Theatre are that the title role goes to a young man and that the staging fairly bristles with kinetic energy.

The original play by James M. Barrie on which the musical is based is more than a century old and has been through several incarnations during those last 100 years. Most notably it was given new life and classic status by the 1953 Disney cartoon and the 1954 Broadway musical starring Mary Martin. DHT last staged it in 2003.

Peter, the boy who refuses to grow up, is generally considered to be an adolescent of about 13 years. But Martin was in her 40s when she opened the show on Broadway and major revivals also featured female leads — notably Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby.

That casting tradition has made the role gender neutral — a curious choice, given that Peter's attraction to Wendy, Tinkerbell, and Tiger Lilly works better when flavored with some budding sexual chemistry. And — without turning the play into a Freudian study — one can't ignore that Peter's desire to possess a mother is inescapably Oedipal and that "Peter Panism" has its own psychological meaning. Leave it to the late Victorians to pack all that repression into a play for children.

But it has been a steadfastly successful play, proved once more by the excited audience reaction at Diamond Head Theatre, where director Greg Zane's decision to cast Christopher Villasenor as Peter gives the production a definite boost. It helps that Zane is also a choreographer and that Villasenor is primarily a dancer.

If he attended a modern school, Peter's behavior would undoubtedly be labeled as attention deficit disorder. Villasenor is nearly always moving, and in those few moments when he is not, his muscles are contracted and ready to spring. His character is definitely wired — and not just to the flying apparatus. Villasenor is always ready to levitate, and when he does leave the stage floor, it's an organic and natural inevitability.

Singing is not his strong suit, but with this production concept it doesn't have to be. Villasenor has too much baritone and gravelly hoarseness to carry "Neverland," but does better on "I've Gotta Crow," "I Won't Grow Up," and that tom-tom favorite, "Ugh-A-Wug." And when up in the air for the first time, there are enough distractions to keep "I'm Flying" from having to rely on melody.

Emphasizing movement, Zane never lets his cast sit still for a minute. The Lost Boys tumble, the Indian maidens execute routines that are part ballet and part cheerleading maneuvers, and the Pirates — led by Christopher Obenchain's delightfully mincing Captain Hook — tango with abandon.

The vocal honors go to Megan Mount as Mrs. Darling and Marcela Biven's fresh and shiny Wendy.

Karen Wolfs' costumes are lovely and Willie Sabel's sets make a good impression on a limited budget. Musical director Emmett Yoshioka's sometimes thin and wheezy orchestra would benefit from a few more members.

Lastly, the show's three acts would benefit by compressing them into two and eliminating the second intermission. While some of the adults in the audience may give in to production fatigue, the kids seem to hold up well and absorb the stage energy all the way to the final curtain.

Joseph T. Rozmiarek has reviewed theater performances in Hawai'i since 1973.