Peter Pan, it seems, appeals as much to adults mired in careers and carpools as he does to children.
Maybe that’s why the boy who won’t grow up has been reborn in so many forms since it first appeared – and takes yet another new shape in the season opener for Bainbridge Performing Arts.
“It’s important that stories that are so (much) in our history have new interpretations,” director Steven Fogell said. “It keeps the story alive – moving forward for new generations.”
“Peter Pan” grew out of the friendship between Scottish writer James Matthew Barrie and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies and her five sons. Barrie told the boys stories they loved, especially tales of Peter Pan.
Barrie included Pan and his adventures in one chapter of his 1902 novel, “The White Bird,” but the Peter Pan chapter proved so popular that Barrie expanded it.
In 1904, Barrie subsequently adapted the written tale into a play.
Later adaptations included a 1950s musical starring Mary Martin, the popular Disney animated version, and the movie “Hook.”
Girl power
In his adaptation, Fogell has reintroduced scenes that most versions deleted.
“I wanted to bring it back from the choppiness of the Mary Martin musicals,” Fogell said. “I’ve used a lot more of Barrie’s quotes – and my own humor.”
Fogell also upended the gender bias of the late Victorian work, created from stories for young men, to shift the emphasis to strong female figures.
That cast of characters includes Wendy, played by Vanessa Williams-Hall; Tiger Lily, played by Marie Berry; Tinker-Bell, played to the jealous hilt by Devin McDermott; and the mermaid Minerva, played by Kim Atkins – whose accent in lines like “Pull up a rock, shveetie,” sounds like she was fished out of the East River.
Sharon Greany plays the pirate Gabby, a part Fogell penned for this production.
“She’s a riot to play,” said Greany, who acted in BPA’s “Pajama Game” 21 years ago and doubles as “Peter Pan’s” costume designer.
“I just have to watch out I don’t get my skirts caught when I jump over the side of the ship.”
Five dance numbers performed by 18 female dancers from Bainbridge Dance Center, which collaborated with BPA on the production, also enlarges the female presence.
Bringing original music and choreography to the stage has been a nine-month project, Fogell says – but the effort has been worthwhile, to see “Peter Pan” come to life in new form.
“One hundred years of adaptations,” Fogell said, “and it’s still continuing.”
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BPA’s 2002-03 theatre season opens with J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan” in collaboration with Bainbridge Dance Center.
The adaptation by Steven Fogell, suitable for all ages, features choreography by Susan Thompson and Rain Ross and music by Wes Corbett and Simon Chrisman.
“Peter Pan” plays Nov. 8-23, with performances 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Pay-What-You-Can performances are 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 and 21.
Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and $9 for students, available at BPA or by phone at 842-8569.Information: www.theplayhouse. org/theater.htm.
