Actors and audience will all be on stage to delve into the early-life adventures of Peter Pan during Stansbury High School’s winter play “Peter and the Starcatcher.”
SHS drama director Glen Carpenter said the play upends the century-old story of how a miserable orphan comes to be The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up.
The play opens Tuesday and runs through Feb. 27.
Carpenter said the play includes marauding pirates, jungle tyrants, unwilling comrades and unlikely heroes. It playfully explores the depths of greed and despair, and the bonds of friendship, duty and love.
Audience members for this play will be seated on stage with the actors.
“Audiences will love this show,” Carpenter said. “We’ve done quite a few of our winter plays onstage with the audience onstage. Last year’s winter play “Misanthrope” was with the audience onstage. We’re able to seat between 125 and 150 people. So people should buy their tickets early.
“We’ll have a smaller cast of about 24,” he added. “The show is written for 11 actors, so I’ve added an ensemble. It’s considered a play with music.”
Starring as The Boy (Peter Pan) is Landon Richins, with Zack Stoker as Blackstache (Captain Hook).
“Landon is amazingly talented and has been the right fit for numerous shows this year and last year,” Carpenter said. “I thought Zack was a perfect fit as well for Blackstache. He’s also playing Captain von Trapp in ‘The Sound of Music’ in May.”
Additional roles are performed by Bridger Roberts, Jerdyn Akeripa, Lily Kay, Garrett Merrill and Natalie Roberts.
Carpenter provided a synopsis of the play.
He said 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 precious cargo is 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.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. with an additional matinee performance on Saturday at 2 p.m. Ticket prices at the door are $8.50 for adults, $7.50 for non-SHS students and seniors, and $5.50 for SHS students and children under 12. Patrons are encouraged to purchase advance tickets at www.stalliondrama.org.
Stansbury High School is located at 5300 Aberdeen Lane in Stansbury Park.