Peter Pan Catches More Than Stars…
He also captures hearts.
How does one explain the concepts and hilarity of the phenomenally written and phenomenally directed interpretation of how Peter Pan began?
Black Stache (Leo Ash Evens) was a favorite among the crowd. He made the crowd laugh, giggle, and almost wet their seats. Black Stache had people on the edge of their seats begging for more. His character was a rude, crude, evil, dirty, and overall, a very naughty pirate. He will later become known as Captain Hook.
Molly (Justine Salata) played the daughter of the Captain of the ship, Neverland. She will eventually become the mother of Wendy.
Boy, who later becomes Peter Pan (Liam Forde), is an orphan. He and two other boys are slaves on the Neverland ship. He falls in love with Molly and absolutely hates all adults. He just wants to stay young for a little while longer. He ends up getting his wish so he can no longer be with Molly.
Peter and the Starcatcher is a very interesting play and it is hilarious! I suggest it to anyone. I give it a 9 out of a 10.
Where the Starcatcher went next
Peter and the Starcatcher is Rick Elice’s stage adaptation of Peter and the Starcatchers, the 2004 novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. By the time this review ran, the play already had a full New York life behind it. It opened on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on April 15, 2012, and won five Tony Awards: Christian Borle took Best Featured Actor as Black Stache, and the production won for scenic, costume, lighting and sound design.
The Broadway run closed in January 2013, and the show moved off-Broadway to New World Stages from March 2013 to January 2014. Two national tours followed. The first ran from Denver in August 2013 to Pittsburgh in May 2014, and a second went from Toledo in February 2015 to Burlington, Vermont, in April 2015.
The play kept finding new companies after that. In October 2024 the Australian company Dead Puppet Society opened its own production at the Canberra Theatre Centre and took it on to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Questions people ask
Is Peter and the Starcatcher based on a book?
Yes. Rick Elice adapted the play from Peter and the Starcatchers, a 2004 novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Both tell how an orphan called Boy becomes Peter Pan, how Molly connects to Wendy, and how the pirate Black Stache turns into Captain Hook, the same story this review walks through.
How many Tony Awards did Peter and the Starcatcher win?
Five. Christian Borle won Best Featured Actor for playing Black Stache, and the Broadway production won the awards for scenic, costume, lighting and sound design. The show received six other nominations, including Best Play, after opening at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York in April 2012.