Dobama Theatre’s ‘Peter/Wendy’ will appeal to children and the young at heart

It is a classic children’s fable that has undergone many revivals since it first appeared as J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play and later 1911 novel “Peter and Wendy”. It was a Broadway musical in 1954 starring Mary Martin as Peter whose live television telecast attracted 65 million viewers. Since then it has had various revivals with Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby as Peter. Walt Disney had the 1953 animated movie version that proved extremely popular. Not all attempts were successful as evident by Spielberg’s “Hook”.

Dobama Theater’s version by Jeremy Bloom is a shortened semi-interactive version directed by Nathan Motta. The cast consists of seven actors playing eleven parts with Mikaela Ray as Wendy, Kelsey Angel Baehrens as Peter, Charles Mayhew Miller as Lost Boy/Mermaid, Diwe Augustin-Glave as Tiger Lilly, Abigail Jarvis as Tinker Bell, Kara Mielcarek as Hook/Mrs. Darling and Trey Gilipin as Smee/Mr. Darling.

The production is a scaled back version to say the least. Props are limited to Wendy’s bed, wooden swords, Hook’s “ship”, some rocks and a dock. The only “high-tech” item is a laser pointer wielded by Tinkerbell that gives a sparkling green appearance where ever it lands. This allows the audience to concentrate on the story more. There is also some video scenes overlays to give the appearance of flying.

It begins with the cast members (sans Wendy who is in bed) going through the audience asking for “happy words” that are freely given. They are wearing T-Shirts that say “Peace”, “Love”, “Acceptance” and etc. From the window Peter makes his entrance. After Wendy helps Peter recapture his shadow and sews it back on his feet he convinces her to fly with him to Neverland. Her brothers John and Michael did not make the cut and are nowhere to be seen. Flying takes the form of other cast members raising them over their heads on a darkened stage as the pair are "whisked" away. Wendy soon meets The Lost Boy, Tinkerbell, Smee, Hook, Mermaid and Tiger Lily and the adventure begins. Just when it looks as if Hook will have his way Peter swoops in to save the day. Easy Peasy.

So how does this show “Pan” out? The cast is exuberant and energetic. While the show was received quite well by the opening night audience (they applauded wildly at the end), I found it a bit like saccharine (not really sweet but not really bitter). It reminded me of a youth theater or college cast making their way through an experimental script in which the words get in the way of the action. There are moments that really are tender and wistful but it seems that the aim is to be profound rather than ethereal with the various characters being mere scaled down versions of the originals. Not withstanding the cast does give it their best shot with what they had to work with and as mentioned was very well received by the audience. The show runs around 100 minutes with a fifteen minute intermission.

This stripped bare rendition of the children’s classic would be an ideal pick to introduce young children to a live theater experience. Young at heart adults will also be enthralled by the presentation. Find your happy word and buy a ticket.

Dobama Theatre’s production of “Peter/Wendy” will be on stage at 2340 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights through December 29, 2024. For more information and to purchase tickets go to http://www.dobama.org or call (216) 932-3396.