Ross Zentner
Peter Pan stand center stage with fist upraised.
Caroline Hansen is a standout as Peter Pan, especially as she was an understudy until shortly before the production debuted.
The story of Peter Pan —the boy who never grew up — has enchanted generations, ever since it was penned by J.M. Barrie in 1904. In the intervening years, audiences have enjoyed plays, novels, silent movies, cartoons, Broadway shows, and Hollywood blockbusters that reimagine Peter and the Darling children flying to Neverland, the Lost Boys battling the evil Captain Hook, and Peter saving Tinkerbell, with the help of children clapping. Now, as the last production of the 2022-2023 season, Children’s Theater of Madison is bringing Peter’s antics to life in the musical Peter Pan, performed in the Capitol Theater in Overture Center through April 30. The final directing project of outgoing artistic director Roseann Sheridan, the 1954 show is perfectly framed in the historic venue, a simple story with a little bit of magic and a (mostly) happy ending.
Originally scheduled for the 2019-2020 season, this production of Peter Pan has had a difficult journey towards opening night. Shut down on the eve of the first public performance in 2020 due to COVID-19, it was shelved for three years, until this spring. And just days before the 2023 production debuted, the actor playing Peter Pan, Kailey Azure Green, withdrew from the cast due to an injury. Ironically, Green got a lot of extra stage time last summer as an understudy for multiple roles at American Players Theatre. But last week Green’s understudy, Caroline Hansen, got the call and took over the title role for the entire run.
Fortunately Hansen is a revelation. She not only carries the show effortlessly, imbuing the perennial boy Peter Pan with wide eyes, high energy, fearless confidence and child-like wonder, Hansen gives absolutely no indication that she’s filling in after limited rehearsal time. From the moment she flies into the Darling family’s nursery through an open window, Hansen absolutely owns the stage — letter- and note-perfect in her songs, never missing a step in the dance sequences or a jab in her sword fights. Oh, and she also flies across the stage, courtesy of ZFX flying effects, like it is second nature.
Hansen’s strong, clear alto soars across the large Capitol Theater auditorium, even when she is in mid-air, on exuberant songs like “I Gotta Crow,” “I’m Flying” and “I Won’t Grow Up.” While some actors lean in to the immature stubbornness and emotional obliviousness of Peter’s persistently youthful character, Hansen brings a surprising amount of complexity to the part, expressing both love and sadness. When she implores the audience to please clap their hands and believe in fairies in order to save Tinkerbell’s life, Hansen does so with an unexpected depth of feeling. And in this version, Peter’s genuine longing for a mother figure more than compensates for his inability to consider Wendy as a romantic interest.
Hansen’s performance delivers a healthy dose of energy to the production, which looks and sounds like a time capsule. It’s an uber-traditional musical from the 1950s with a pleasant but basic score; a two-dimensional, brightly colored set that includes several painted fabric drops (storybook-esque design by Steve Barnes); lovely costumes that mirror the Disney movie (by Myron Elliott-Cisneros); a cartoonish band of bumbling, bad guy pirates; and a lot of G-rated, low stakes fisticuffs.
The production also features some low tech, but very dramatic, stage effects. In addition to flying, this production uses large-scale puppets to bring Nana the St. Bernard and Captain Hook’s nemesis crocodile to life. It’s a medium that CTM has used increasingly and with great success over the past few years. As the puppet operator for both animals, Trevin Gay is adept and unobtrusive, even when he’s in full view. It’s only the green laser pointer that stands in for Tinkerbell that feels like an element where they could have tried harder.
One major update in this century-old story is the replacement of Tiger Lily’s band of “Indians” — a festival of clumsy Native American stereotypes, complete with lines composed of gibberish — with a much more powerful and nuanced group of “Pounce Girls.” A companion group to the Lost Boys, they are a band of eco-conscious, Jedi-like, teen girl warriors dressed in jewel tones with accents of white macrame. Tasked with protecting the island of Neverland, they begin the story as stealthy guardians, but end up allied with Peter Pan and his troupe, in their fight against Captain Hook, et al. As a modernized Tiger Lily, Olaife Adegbite is a formidable leader and her followers communicate their strength, and strength of purpose, through well executed choreography.
As Captain Hook, Marcus Truschinski injects the archetypal evil-doer with a little flair, as he orders his pirate band to sing their dastardly plans in both tango and tarantella tempos. Unsurprisingly, the classical actor handles Hook’s often baroque speech with ease and his desire for revenge against Peter Pan is palpable, as is his fear of the dreaded, clock-eating crocodile. But while Hook barks out orders to his rag-tag ensemble of pirates, pay special attention to his right-hand man Smee (Brian Cowing). With his especially expressive face, nimble dance steps, and talent for stage business, Cowing is a pure delight to watch.
As director, Sheridan has assembled all the right artists in the cast and creative teams to make this massive undertaking look easy. With the help of choreographer Michael Stanek, she keeps the actors moving and dispatches large groups of performers on- and offstage swiftly, keeping the attention of even the littlest play-goers. Peter Pan is a fitting grand finale for Sheridan’s long tenure with the theater.
