On Theater: Story of ‘Peter’ a rousing farce
“Peter and the Starcatcher” is an acquired taste. If you haven’t acquired it by intermission in South Coast Repertory’s closing show of the season, chances are you’ll still be standing with the rest of the audience at the curtain call.
This farcical fable, explaining — in one view — how the Peter Pan legend came to be, is given a rousing, rambunctious rendition by director Art Manke and an enthusiastic cast ostensibly attempting to surpass Monty Python in sheer quantity of outrageous quips and puns.
The gags come thick and fast as two English sailing vessels embark on a journey to a tropical island. One ship contains three hijacked youths, one of them unnamed and known only as “boy” but destined to become Peter Pan. Also aboard are a newly minted nobleman and his gifted daughter, who takes a cautious shine to the boy.
The show’s first act is largely centered on expository action, but the second — after its stilly opening scene in which all the cast members portray mermaids — is gangbusters, with heroes and villains having at one another as the Peter Pan back story unfolds. Playwright Rick Elice dropped in a few modern references here and there to raise the satirical temperature.
It’s an ensemble piece with an energetic cast, but one performer stands out in the SCR production. Matt McGrath excels as the evil pirate Black Stache, making Dustin Hoffman’s flamboyant title role turn in the movie “Hook” seem like a model of subtle understatement. McGrath revels in his delicious villainy, even though he often comes out with a wrong word and must be corrected by his sidekick, Smee (an accommodating Kasey Mahaffy).
As for the future Pan himself, Wyatt Fenner delivers an enthusiastic account of a young man finally coming into his own and discovering romance along the way. He’s ably assisted by fellow captives Miles Fletcher and Paco Tolson who serve, along with most of the rest of the company, as narrators.
Gabrielle McClinton, the only true female in the cast, shines as the nobleman’s daughter, bent on rescuing a trunk full of magical fairy dust — “star stuff” — while being strangely attracted to the newly christened Peter. Her resourcefulness comes across in a splendid performance.
Dressing in drag on two occasions, Tony Abatemarco scoops up the laughter as the ancient but rambunctious Mrs. Bumbrake and again as a mysterious blonde “teacher.” James McEwan reaps laughs and groans as a flatulent sailor, while Allen Gilmore solidly portrays a staunch Lord Aster, full of British stiff-upper-lipmanship.
Christian Barillas has his hands full with four roles, while David Nevell doubles as a scurvy pirate and an island chieftain. J. Paul Boehmer puts in a brief appearance as Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, eventually bound for the South Pole, where he’ll breathe his last and inspire the play “Terra Nova.”
Michael B. Raiford’s set design resembles a taped-off crime scene in a theater’s backstage area, with its various platforms whisked around to accomodate the situation. Angela Balogh Calin’s costumes and Jaymi Lee Smith’s lighting effects further enhance the production.
Playwright James M. Barrie, the creator of “Peter Pan,” hardly could have realized the creativity he set in motion well over a century ago. “Peter and the Starcatcher” continues the story’s ripple effect with an emphasis on farcical humor, enthusiastically presented at South Coast Repertory.
TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the daily Pilot, Coastline Pilot and Huntington Beach Independent.
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IF YOU GO:
WHAT: “Peter and the Starcatcher”
WHERE: South Coast Repertory Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
WHEN: Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:30 and 8; Sundays at 2:30 and 7:30 until June 7
COST: Starts at $22
CALL: (714) 708-5555 or scr.org
