Peter and the Star Catcher

Performances

September 7-9 &14-16 2018

Preview, Thursday, Friday & Saturday @ 7:30pm • Sunday @ 2:30pm

Venue

Community Players Theatre

Synopsis

Peter and the Starcatcher is a prequel to Peter Pan based on the children’s book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson and freely adapted for the stage by Rick Elice, with co-directors Alex Timbers and Roger Rees. For two-and-a-half hours, twelve actors make theatrical magic by playing dozens of characters: sailors, pirates, British naval officers, Mollusk natives and orphans in addition to eighteen major roles. The original Broadway production was a deliberately low-budget spectacle: an extravaganza of staging that relied on suggestion and storytelling rather than expensive set pieces like the chandelier in Phantom of the Opera or the helicopter in Miss Saigon. Elice’s script, jam-packed with poetry, fart jokes, gentle lyricism, and numerous nods to pop culture, is a coming-of-age adventure story about how a nameless orphan — inspired by a remarkable and ambitious girl — became the strange and celebrated hero that is the Boy Who Would Not Grow Up.

Author: Rick Elise

Historian’s Corner

“Peter and the Star Catcher” by Rick Elise was a first-time production for Community Players. “Star Catcher” was the opening production of the Community Players 96th Season and marked the return to Players for Director Brian Artman and Producer John Leider after an absence of several seasons in those positions. The show was well received by the audiences and the reviewer who called the show a delightful romp. The twelve actors in the show performed many parts; they were in constant motion throughout the play, including singing several songs, a rarity for a non-musical show at Players.

Community Players also received an award as the Best of Readers Choice for Live Theater Venue in the Bloomington-Normal Area for the second year in a row.