Arden Children’s Theatre presents Douglas Irvine’s adaptation of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan

The Arden sets the stage for a warm, welcoming experience at its mainstage by sending out emails with updates on parking and street closures as well as a Social Narrative (available on the website). Providing guidelines and creating expectations for behavior, it also has photos of the theater and lobby space. It’s a buffer against the strangeness of a new place and can help children relax and enjoy the show.

Entering the lobby, there’s a palpable sense of excitement. Parents whisk their kids to the restroom while staff in bright green Peter Pan shirts usher the crowds into the F. Otto Haas theater. As you clutch your program and make your way to your seat, you see the empty space below the risers. The seating is steeply raked and circles the stage, aisles radiating out like a star. Even your entry into the theater builds drama.

Simple and inventive

Simple sets by David P. Gordon, along with inventive use of everyday items as props, invite the audience to join the world-building onstage. When the hungry crocodile is only an audio effect (sound by Larry Fowler), young minds can imagine the danger without feeling frightened. The ensemble cast transitions from adult to child roles with the help of a little fairy dust, costume designer Jill Keys marking the changes with a wig or the addition of a hat.

In this staging, we begin with Wendy (Campbell O’Hare) and Michael (Adam Howard) as adults. When they settle Wendy’s daughter Jane into her bed, they are joined by their mother (Lee Minora) to tell the tale of Peter Pan. For some reason, they’re all wearing pajamas.

O’Hare is a lovely Wendy. Her expressive face beams with excitement when she gets to join Peter on his adventures. Her entire body slumps when she realizes that her school-girl crush is wasted on the boyish Peter Pan. The energetic Jo Vito Ramirez spins and twirls as Peter Pan. Impish and crowing with confidence, Peter is prone to childish tears when frustrated. Ramirez does a great job expressing Peter’s puzzlement over why these silly creatures have all these yucky feelings for him.

Jessica Money transforms into the most characters, including Jane, the Lost Boy Tootles (in a bowler hat and glasses), Tiger Lily (in a tiger hood), the pirate Bill Jukes, and, crucially, the principal Tinkerbell. Here, Tinkerbell is a fairy of sound and light. Black gloves with green lighted fingertips flicker to denote the fairy, and a voice modulator gives Tink her voice. There’s an excited stream of tweets and buzzes and the occasional raspberry as she flits from hand to hand and then up to the lamp post or off into the sky.

J. Hernandez as the petulant villain Captain Hook brings Shakespearean flair with a broad British accent and florid speech. He prances about the stage, comically sinking slowly back until his loyal servant Smee (Lee Minora) finally places a chair under him. The pirates and Lost Boys have umbrellas instead of swords and bananas stand in for pistols. The fight scenes are staged with twirled gymnastic ribbons with lots of tumbling and rolling about. The sword battle between Peter and Hook has their shadows jousting while the cast drums upon the stage.

High praise

My young companion was rapt. He perched on his seat, leaning forward and back as the action unfolded. A few times, his hands crept to his mouth as he worried about Peter Pan. When Wendy and Peter are trapped on Marauder Rock and the sea level is rising, he held his breath. He was so relieved when Tiger Lily threw down the rope.

When I asked him if there was anything scary in the show, he shook his head. He was puzzled by the “black man” but once I explained that he was Peter’s lost shadow, he seemed to grasp the concept. He agreed that that it was silly: shadows don’t fall off. This show was “the best movie!” he told me excitedly. Peter Pan was his favorite character, and he wasn’t afraid of Captain Hook. He barely moved from his seat and didn’t show a minute of boredom—high praise for any children’s production. Bring your favorite kids and experience the wonder of Neverland yourself.