MARK AUERBACH
Peter Pan: The Prequel!
Broadway and Hollywood are awash with sequels, most of them ho-hum. When a prequel comes along, people take note–case in point, “Wicked”.
The story of those witches of Oz, before Dorothy crashed the party, is a global blockbuster. En route to that status is “Peter and The Starcatcher”, which just ended a long, successful New York City run, and is making a Hartford stop at The Bushnell on February 18-23.
“Peter and The Starcatcher”, a play with music, based on the 2006 novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is a backstory of the character Peter Pan, who is then center stage in J.M. Barrie’s novel. Rick Elice adapted the work for the stage, and Roger Rees and Alex Timbers brought it to the stage at LaJolla in California. Flash forward: the production moves off-Broadway, then on-Broadway for an acclaimed run, then back off-Broadway, and now to audiences across the country. Along the way, it received 9 Tony Nominations, won 5 Tony Awards, including one for “Best Play”, and one for its then star, Christian Borle, who went on to stardom on TV’s “Smash”.
An interesting sidebar–the Broadway production logo, which draws upon the whimsical, imaginative content in the show, was crafted by Newfane, Vermont-based woodworker, John W. Long. It was featured in The New York Times. http://www.artistinwood.com/
Left to right: Joey deBettencourt, Carl Howell, Edward Tournier from the Peter and the Starcatcher Tour Company. (Photo by
Jenny Anderson)
“Peter and The Starcatcher” is not for younger kids, but it certainly brings out the kid in jaded adults.
For tickets: 860-987-5900- or http://bushnell.org/.
Two West Side Stories
Leonard Bernstein’s score and Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics make “West Side Story”, their retelling of “Romeo and Juliet”, a classic. When they’re added to the strong book by Arthur Laurents and the riveting choreography by Jerome Robbins, the musical becomes a tour de force, and sadly, it’s not revived enough. Two area orchestras are showcasing the work of Bernstein and Sondheim in very different ways.
The Hartford Symphony will perform Bernstein’s “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story” (February 13-16) on a program which includes other romantic classics suitable for the Valentine’s Day season. Carolyn Kuan will conduct R. Strauss’ Suite from “Der Rosenkavalier”, and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, all of which add up to several love stories told through music. Mariana Vacatello is the piano soloist. Performances are at The Bushnell. For tickets: 860-244-9999 or www.hartfordsymphony.org.
The Boston Symphony, with David Newman conducting, performs “West Side Story” with the film as a backdrop on February 14-16 at Boston Symphony Hall. Newman is best known for having scored over 100 films in the past 25 years including “Ice Age” and “Throw Mama from The Train”. Of note, Marni Nixon, who dubbed the voice of Natalie Wood in the movie, will give a pre-performance interview from the stage on Sunday, February 16. For tickets: 888-266-1200 or www.bso.org.
Diane Paulus, director of “Witness Uganda” at ART in Cambridge. (Photo by Susan Lapides.)
Keep in Mind…
***The Sounds of New Orleans bring Mardi Gras to Springfield, when the Springfield Symphony Pops, with Kevin Rhodes on the podium, salute the music of the Big Easy on February 15. Trumpeter Byron Stripling reawakens the music of Louis Armstrong, with songs like “Sweet Georgia Brown”, “St. Louis Blues”, and “Ain’t Misbehavin”. For tickets: 413-733-2291 or www.springfieldsymphony.org.
***Barrington Stage in Pittsfield presents its 2014 10×10 New Play Festival through March 2, in conjunction with Pittsfield’s 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival, happening downtown through February 22. One of the playwrights who has created ten minute plays is John Cariani, author of the hit “Almost Maine” and a former intern actor at StageWest in Springfield. For tickets: 413-236-8888 or www.barringtonstageco.org.
***Diane Paulus, Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, has sent three musicals to Broadway, “Hair”, “Porgy & Bess”, and the current smash hit “Pippin”. All got their start in Cambridge. She’s working on her fourth, “Witness Uganda”, which has its world premiere February 4-March 16. “Witness Uganda” created by Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews, with choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie, is the story of a young man from New York City, who volunteers for a project in Uganda, which is life-changing. The musical has received several awards in workshop performances. For tickets: 617-547-8300 or www.AmericanRepertoryTheater.org
***New Summer Theatre Announced. The Silverthorne Theater Company has announced its inaugural season at the Rhodes Arts Center on the Northfield Mount Hermon School campus in Gill. Their launch includes Peter Shaffer’s farce “Black Comedy”, the Brecht classic “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” and David Ives “All in The Timing”. Theatre directors are former NMH School staff David Rowland and Lucinda Kidder. They’re auditioning local professional actors (by appointment only) on February 8-10. www.silverthornetheater.org or [email protected]
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
