“Peter and the Starcatcher” is a veritable treasure chest sparkling under the lights, as the lid lifts and the contents are discovered each evening in the Poe Theater.  It is a play with music, a showpiece of creative energy with comedic bits, funny and satirical dialogue, goofy jokes and endlessly inventive theater craft. Designed with oodles of precisely timed technical elements and spectacle for an intimate space like the Poe, this clever Peter Pan legend runs on Heartwood's stage for seven performances: July 28-30 and Aug 3-6.

 

The cast of twelve - Garrett Coffey, Joseph Cote, Jonah Daiute , Nanette Fraser, May Halm, Benno Hennig, Ray Huth, Ryan Kohnert, Nick Maioulis, Tommy MacDonell, Ben Schwink and Mitchell Straus - is spot-on, delivering witty lines and physical shenanigans, woven together with joyful threads of imagination and high voltage energy.  “Peter and the Starcatcher” picked up five Tony Awards in 2012, when it first appeared on Broadway and has been cited as one of the "smartest theatrical anomalies ever to reach Broadway." 

 

The play, through its meandering silliness and joy, tells the journey of a nameless, anxious orphan, who grows up to become someone extraordinary ... the never-ending Peter Pan.  For kids 8 to 108, this show is a no-miss, for summer entertainment and delight.

 

There is another journey happening, simultaneously - that of the audience.  Anyone willing to lean into this piece and leave all else behind, will come to accept the extraordinary ... and to believe.  The intimacy of actors to audience in the Poe Theater lends itself in perfection, to this jewel of a theater experience. 

 

To quote theatre reviewer, Ben Brantley, "The story ... is as simple, cozy and scary as the best bedtime stories are. Its elements include an ocean voyage, a shipwreck, a cargo of something called stardust ...." 

 

Seven evening performances are scheduled in the Poe Theater at Lincoln Academy at 7:30 on July 28-30 and Aug 3-6.  Ticket sales are heating up, sellouts are expected, and reservations are strongly advised.

 

Reserve by emailing info@heartwoodtheater.org or phoning 563-1373.  Student tickets (through college) are a nominal $5, sponsored by Peapod Jewelry & First National Wealth Management; all adult tickets are $30. 

 

“Peter and the Starcatcher” is sponsored by Moody’s Diner and Heartwood’s longstanding Season Sponsor, Bath Savings Institution.

 

Based on the best-selling novels by Dave Barry and Ridley Parson, this play by Rick Elice was conceived for the stage by directors, Roger Rees and Alex Timbers, with music by Wayner Barker. Presented with special arrangement with Musical Theatre International (MTI).