Tethered to the ceiling by invisible ropes, Peter Pan and his friends whizzed through the pages of a life-sized storybook.
Along the way, they crept through dense forests, bounded across treacherous oceans, and contended with the terrible reality of growing up. Bursting with life and color as though from a fairy tale, Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School in Potomac Shores presented “Peter Pan the Musical,” April 11-13.
“Peter Pan,” written in 1954 and based off of the 1904 play of the same name, is a thrilling and heartwarming story about what it means to be a child, and what it means to grow up. Wendy Darling and her two brothers, John and Michael, see a strange boy outside their window after being put to bed. Peter Pan, the boy at the window, sneaks in and teaches the children how to fly. He takes them on an action-packed adventure through Neverland, a land in which they will never grow up, until the children must make a choice: Will they stay in Neverland forever, or return home to their previous humdrum lives?
Peter Pan, played by Maeve Williams, flounced across the stage with a boyish charm. Williams, utilizing bold, self-assured movements and a deliciously brash way of speaking, perfectly encapsulated the mannerisms of an almost feral little boy. Whether teetering off of a towering mahogany dresser or darting from the stage and into the audience, Williams never lost her delightfully boisterous energy. In the song “I’ve Gotta Crow,” she romped about the stage, squawking like a bird, while in “Never Never Land,” Williams effortlessly soared up to the high notes with jaw-dropping clarity.
Fighting alongside Peter were the Brave Girls, led by Tiger Lily (Emma Ramer). Ramer held herself proud and tall as she soared through the air in effortless leaps. She and the rest of the Brave Girls floated and spun through Neverland like falling autumn leaves as they flooded across the stage. In the song “True Blood Brothers,” they joined with the Lost Boys in a visually stunning dance filled with amazingly synchronized choreography and perfectly organized chaos.
With a short stature and huge, starry eyes, Elizabeth Vezina as Michael Darling perfectly embodied an adorable little boy, surrounded by wonder. Whether she was sneezing in her sleep as Peter Pan floated above her, or laughing and whooping with giddy delight as she flew for the first time, Vezina brought a sense of childlike amazement to the stage.
The vibrant storybook in which the characters performed shone with gorgeous and vibrant colors. Expertly painted by Hannah Malinowski, Patrick Kurrus, Alex Everson and Evelyn Wieder, the life-sized storybook of a set spread itself out like a panorama, inviting the audience in. Whether it was a hazy, roiling ocean filled with sharks, or the warm, sleepy embrace of the Darlings’ bedroom, each page of the book positively exploded with color and life. Delicate lights, by Dominic Brunsman and Deyman Chappell, bathed the stage in a fairy-tale glow, from the electrifying reds and greens illuminating the climactic fight, to the small twinkling ball of light representing Tinkerbell.
The spectacle ended with a resplendent purple skyline, glittering with light, as Peter and Jane — also played by Vezina — soared through the air toward Neverland. Saint John Paul the Great’s production was a show packed with breathtaking color and stunning magic.
