BPA to stage ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ in March

By Luciano Marano • March 4, 2018 11:30 am
Sophie Eldridge stars as Molly Aster in the BPA production of “Peter and the Starcatcher.” (Photo courtesy of Bainbridge Performing Arts)
Sophie Eldridge stars as Molly Aster in the BPA production of “Peter and the Starcatcher.” (Photo courtesy of Bainbridge Performing Arts)

Enter the Neverland you never knew.

The Tony Award-winning “Peter and the Starcatcher” upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (aka Peter Pan). From marauding pirates and jungle tyrants to unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes, this wildly theatrical adaptation playfully explores the depths of greed and despair — as well as the bonds of friendship, duty and love.

A young orphan and his mates are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They know nothing of the mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin, which contains a precious, otherworldly cargo. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training, who realizes that the trunk’s contents is actually starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands.

When the ship is taken over by pirates — led by the fearsome Black Stache, a villain determined to claim the trunk and its treasure for his own — the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure.

This production showcases the talented artistic trio from BPA’s “Big Fish”: director Ken Michels, musical director Aimee Hong and choreographer Heather Dawson.

Together they pilot a stellar cast of BPA favorites and newcomers, including Jason Gingold, Sophie Eldridge, Julian Mudge-Burns, Lisa Wright, Kylee Gano, Nelsen Spickard, Colleen Gillon, Ben Cournoyer, Kevin Tanner, Sadie Gingold, Robert Craighead, Meghan Lynn Newton, Matt Eldridge, Max Lopuszynski, Jaron Boggs, D’Arcy Clements and Libby Clements, among others.

This fantastical tale for all ages appears at BPA from March 9 through March 25, with evening shows at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and matinees at 3 p.m. Sundays. The run includes a pay-what-you-can preview at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 8, and the opening night reception is planned for 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 9.

Tickets, $29 for adults, $24 for seniors, students, youth, military and teachers, may be purchased online at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, by phone at 206-842-8569, or in person at BPA (200 Madison Ave. North).

BPA Box Office hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and one hour prior to each performance.