In Arlington Players’ ‘Peter and the Starcatcher,’ creativeness is centerstage

Confession time: I’ve beloved all issues Peter Pan and Captain Hook since I used to be round 8 years previous and I obtained the Disneyland Records recording of the songs and story of the 1953 animated traditional Peter Pan for my birthday. I knew these songs by coronary heart, and I pored over any e book or comedian I may discover that had even a touch of Neverland, the Lost Boys, the Darling youngsters, their flying companion Peter, and his arch enemy, James Hook.

So it’s with this background that I at all times enter a theater to see an iteration of Peter Pan and his misadventures, equivalent to The Arlington Players’ manufacturing of Peter and the Starcatcher.

In 2004, humorist Dave Barry launched a precursor to J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, co-written with Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Starcatcher. Several years later, the best-selling novel was tailored right into a energetic and imaginative stage manufacturing with music by e book author Rick Elice and composer Wayne Barker. The present has since gone on to develop into a staple of theaters giant and small.

The Arlington Players’ manufacturing, wrapping up performances this weekend, can add to their very own successes with this participating manufacturing.

The premise is easy: in an improvisational method, an ensemble forged shares the story of a anonymous orphan boy and a plucky lass named Molly and their encounters with pirates and the origin of Neverland. The actors painting greater than 100 characters, switching roles shortly, and having a ball whereas doing it.

Without gifting away an excessive amount of of the storyline and the way the adventures on this play result in Peter Pan and Captain Hook being mortal enemies is a part of the enjoyable of this adaptation. The Arlington Players, underneath the route of Hillary Adams, definitely embraced the ragtag nature of the story and the myriad characters on this pleasant manufacturing.

With an emphasis on play, Adams gave her actors a large berth to maneuver by the story with alacrity, abetted by Matt Scarborough’s sharp musical route and keyboards, which assist the scenes and again the number of shanties and different ditties all through the play.

Max Newman captured the timeless and mischievous qualities of “the boy who never grew up,” and has an exquisite chemistry with Emily Monaco as Molly, the “starcatcher” of the title. As a personality, Molly has a easy however difficult mission: shield a trunk filled with magic mud and maintain it out of the clutches of evil males. Monaco embraces the whimsy of her character and the spirit of the piece.

Among these baddies bent on domination and getting at her trunk, Black Stache is entrance and middle, performed with comedic aplomb by Michael McCarthy. The head pirate and king of malapropisms, McCarthy has a area day with the position that may finally develop into identified far and extensive as Captain Hook. 

The remainder of the ensemble — switching from sailors, to pirates, the mermaids, and the natives referred to as Mollusks (don’t ask!) — retains the manufacturing shifting alongside and the viewers engaged with their creativity and talent, utilizing minimal props and a really fundamental set design, permitting the performers to stay in focus all through the two-hour operating time. John Lynch (Prentiss), Megan Ann Hinton (Ted), H. Christian Aguilar (Smee), Robert Rotenberry (Lord Aster), David Gorsline (Capt. Falcon Scott), Anna Marquardt (Mrs. Bumbrake), William MacLeod (Bill Slank), and Grace Murtha (Alf) took on their major roles and others gleefully. Other ensemble members included Sarah Kessler, Parker Scott, Anton Soszey, and Liz Hynes.

The total forged wallowed within the playfulness of the script and let their infantile selves shine, which is ideal for a set of characters — and lots of new ones — that retains audiences in contact with their very own childlike marvel, a welcome escape throughout chilly and making an attempt occasions. It was additionally enjoyable to reconnect with my eight-year-old self, nonetheless dreaming of adventures in Neverland.

Running Time: Approximately two hours and 20 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.

Peter and the Starcatcher performs by February 15, 2026, offered by The Arlington Players, performing within the Thomas Jefferson Community Theater at Jefferson Middle School, 125 S Old Glebe Rd., Arlington, VA. Tickets could also be bought online prematurely. Tickets are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors or navy, and $20 for college kids. Groups of ten or extra get tickets for $20 per individual.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The matinee efficiency on Sunday, February 15, could have Sign Language Interpretation. Please be aware that the underground parking is open, and extra data on parking could be discovered at thearlingtonplayers.org.

Peter and the Starcatcher
A Play by Rick Elice
Based on the Novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Music by Wayne Barker
Originally produced on Broadway by Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert, Eva Price, Tom Smedes, and Disney Theatrical Productions.

CAST
Boy: Max Newman
Molly Aster: Emily Monaco
Black Stache : Michael McCarthy
Prentiss: John Lynch
Ted: Megan Ann Hinton
Smee: H. Christian Aguilar
Lord Leonard Aster : Robert Rotenberry
Captain Robert Falcon Scott: David Gorsline
Fighting Prawn/Grempkin/ Sanchez/Mack: Brian Lloyd Jimenez
Mrs. Bumbrake/Teacher: Anna Marquardt
Alf: Grace Murtha
Bill Slank/Hawking Clam: William MacLeod
Ensemble: Sarah Keisler, Anton Soszry, Liz Hynes, Parker Scott, 

PRODUCTION TEAM
Director: Hillary Adams
Assistant Director: Jenna Dawkins
Producers: Allison Gray-Mendes, Kristen Parody
Music Director: Matt Scarborough
Stage Manager: Ramah Johnson
Asst. Stage Manager: Aberdeen Bowman, Vera Worri
Set Design: Matt Liptak
Lead Carpenter: Julie Fischer
Assistant Carpenter: Shah Choudhury
Scenic Design/Painter: Mercedes Chatterton
Properties Design/Set Dressing: Griffin Voltmann
Lighting Design: Jeffrey Scott Auerbach, Kimberly Crago
Sound Designer: Kiersten Bowman
Sound Mixer: Colette Yeager
Costume Design: Joan Lawrence, Elaina Reck
Makeup & Hair Design: Maureen Dawson
Dialect Coach: Hillary Adams
Fight and Intimacy Choreography: Brianna Goode, Stefan Sittig
Mermaid Outta Me Choreography: Stefan Sittig
Dramaturgy: Griffin Voltmann
Light Board Operator: Maria Forte
Run Crew: Kendall Billings
Sound Crew: Prachi Sadekar
Rigging Chief: Christopher Smith
Fly: Steven Yates, Nolan Hughes, Nitesh Kartha, Anna Mae Murphy, Paige Lambright