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On Stage: Peter Pan
| Source: |
Eye Weekly |
| Date: |
November 30, 2007 |
| Author: |
Meghan Harrison |
Editorial Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
PETER PAN
Featuring Kurt Browning, Ross Petty.
Written by Chris Earle.
Directed by Susan H Schulman.
Presented by Ross Petty.
To Jan 6.
Tue-Sat 7pm;
Wed noon;
Sat-Sun 2pm.
$54-$74; $49.50 children.
Elgin
Theatre, 189 Yonge.
416-872-5555.
www.ticketmaster.ca.
There’s something to be said for getting exactly what you expect, and
Ross Petty’s annual Christmas pantomime isn’t full of
surprises. Even Kurt Browning’s performance as the aging Peter Pan is
just what you’re expecting: not embarrassing, but not noteworthy
either.
That goes for the rest of the production too. Chris Earle updates the
classic tale to 2007, by which time Neverland has gotten so boring
that The Lost Boys have aged, and Peter Pan returns to London to find
new friends. But the production lags a bit before it moves to
Neverland, where the delightfully vain Captain Hook (Ross Petty) and
his ineffectual crew — including Long John Silver (Dani Jazzar), a
ridiculous glam-rock version of Slash — provide most of the funniest
scenes. Megan Hoople (Wendy) is a promising young talent, though her
acting chops don’t measure up to her pipes yet.
There’s lots of audience participation to engage the kids, no
shortage of puns for the adults and a blinding volume of sparkle in
the costumes. Technically and visually, the production is first-rate,
with a breathtaking moment when Peter and the Darlings fly to
Neverland. But although the point of the show is to manufacture a
spectacle by stretching a flimsy premise to the breaking point, there
are too many slow, unfunny or uncomfortably stilted moments to let the
adult audience relax into the experience. Several of the dance numbers
are inexcusably sloppy for such a lavish production, and the product
placement is sort of creepy.
Peter Pan certainly has its moments, like a drag cover of The Pussycat
Dolls’ “Don’t Cha” by The Lost Boys. The cast is likeable too,
though director Susan H. Schulman seems to have steered them toward
the irritating side of hamminess. In the end, it’s a little too long,
and too few of the numbers get off the ground.
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