peter and wendy

Come to Believe with 'Peter and Wendy'

By Ann M. Augherton
HERALD Managing Editor
(From the Issue of 5/10/07)

Do you believe? Could you let yourself believe? Can you, just for a couple of hours, suspend your adult logic and believe in the magic of childhood?
"Peter and Wendy," based on the novel by "Peter Pan" author James M. Barrie, will make you believe. In a cross between a puppet show and a well-choreographed production with simplistic charm, the narrative will tug at your heart strings.
Narrator Karen Kandel, who originated her role, is a one-woman wonder as she brings all the characters to life vocally and visually, with a little string-pulling from a team of puppeteers. She goes from Peter's little boy brogue to the sweet feminine voice of Wendy without missing a beat. Throw in the hissings of Captain Hook, the soulful sounds of his sidekick, even the woof and whine of the family dog and she has it all covered.
The often humorous folk tale combines with traditional Asian puppetry, figures suspended from sticks and strings, thanks to Mabou Mines. The theatre company, which began in New York City nearly 40 years ago, is known for combining technology and puppetry. At Arena, they bring Peter and Wendy to life and to flight with elaborate, yet simple-looking sets, coupled with a background video for building-tops and birds in flight. Red ribbons indicate blood, wide strips of blue fabric become the ocean and ropes and cloth make the pirate ship.
The puppet-handlers are anonymous, dressed all in white with veiled faces. The puppets are limited only by their strings, their handlers and your imagination. Backlighting and shadow puppets fill in the action when needed. The lost boys, a ragtag group of wooden dolls, add to the "ensemble" with their mischievous ways.
An incredible amount of work and "choreography" must go into the simplest of movements, from the dog’s wagging tail, to the dancing Peter as he tries to outsmart his shadow, to the crocodile on the prowl for Hook in the "Crocodile Tango."
Although a little darker than Barrie's original play, "Peter and Wendy" touches on the loss of childhood; the first time that a child realizes that someone is being unfair to them, a moment they always remember; and the need for mothers, even for the lost boys, who Peters says are "the boys who fall out of their carriages when the grown-ups are looking the other way."
Set to mystical Celtic music, with captivating vocals by Susan McKeown, and a Celtic harp, fiddle, flute, accordion and guitar, the score is one of the play's best features.
The production is long, at least a half-hour too long. Some scenes drag and the background video could be trimmed. The story is definitely suitable for younger audiences, but perhaps best as a matinee because of the length.
The play was adapted and produced by Liza Lorwin, designed by Julie Archer with music by Johnny Cunningham, and directed by Lee Breuer.
Leave the window to your imagination open for Peter and Wendy to sweep in and make you believe in the magic of childhood and all its possibilities.
"Peter and Wendy" runs through June 24. For information call 202/554-9066.