See also: - Peter and the Starcatcher event information - 10 things to do for $10 this week in Denver this weekend (9 free!), August 16-18 -In the Heights celebrates life, love, community and music
In Peter and the Starcatcher, playwright Rick Elice explains how Peter Pan became forever young, how Captain Hook got his name, and how Neverland was discovered. For two hours and fifteen minutes, the audience recaptures the innocence and imagination of childhood.
"This show is interesting because it has all of the bells and whistles that any Broadway show would have, but what is different about it is that they aren't done with hydraulics and huge moving scenery -- they are done with us using sticks, ropes, buckets and plungers to create the scenery," says John Sanders, who plays Black Stache. "The directors imposed these limitations on themselves, which means that we the actors and the audience have to use our imaginations to make a piece of rope to make a doorway or staircase or have to use an actor as a doorway, or whatever they need us for. Those things are all kind of built into the show, and they invite us and the audience into this theatrical language that is all about imagination and fun. It actually kind of reminds me about why I got into acting in the first place."
Luke Smith, who plays Smee, Black Stache's right-hand man, never imagined he would have this role. "I grew up with Peter Pan," he says, "I think I used to see myself as playing him, but playing Smee is just too much fun." And everyone can enjoy the fun, he adds: "What attracts me to the play is the stuff we do on stage is what I did when I was five, playing with things I find and changing them, like turning a plunger into a sword. We are kind of getting to be grown-up kids on stage, and that's kind of what people like to see and I think relate to."
Peter and the Starcatcher continues through September 1, with shows Tuesday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m., as well as 2 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays, and on Thursday, August 29. The matinee on Sunday, September 1 will be an Audio-description/American sign language program. For more information on Peter and the Starcatcher, visit the show's website. For tickets, go to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts website.
Follow @WestwordCulture