WENDY’S PETER PAN

The quickest way for a theatre to get me there is to dangle the words “Peter Pan” in front of me. The tale has been my favorite, (except for the ending, when everyone grows up but Peter, who, thank goodness, does not,) for my entire life. I cry every time I think of the ending, when Peter goes back to the Darlings’ house to bring Wendy back to Neverland for “spring cleaning,” only to find-out that she grew up. (I’m actually crying right now, just thinking of it!) [Note: The rendition at Theatricum Botanicum that I’m reviewing here has an alternate-yet-sanctioned ending.]

As a matter of fact, I’ve often been called Peter Pan because A) I’ve never grown up, and B) kids always want to hang-out with me, and when they grow up, they ask me to spend time with their children. (And then there’s my famous birthday cake story: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/holiday-happy-birthday-to-me-2013.)

I used to be a purist about Peter Pan, feeling that only the famous and definitive Broadway version counts, but then I realized that I love the Disney animated movie, as well. (Especially the adorable personification of Tinker Bell!)

And over the years, I’ve seen a few other theatrical renditions of the classic story, and have gotten on board with them, albeit a tad reluctantly.

And now comes this latest version, Wendy’s Peter Pan, presented by the most unique venue in town, Topanga Canyon’s Theatricum Botanicum. I had not been there since before the pandemic, but as soon as I saw this title, I knew I had to pay the theatre a return visit.

Before I tell you about the play, I want to remind you about this wonderful place. I brought along a very intelligent recent New York transplant, Andy, who was amazed by it all! He really enjoyed the entire experience.

And after having not been there for six summers, I still found the premises to be enchanting. And, with basically a forest on three sides of the stage, the mostly-outside Peter Pan is the perfect show to feature there.

As to the play itself, I have to be honest and say that this production was not my favorite. In a minute I’ll tell you some of my reasons, but the audience I saw it with seemed very happy, with the majority of them smiling and being upbeat on the way out. Andy told me that he really enjoyed it, deeming it to be “playful.” And, he appreciated, (as did I,) that the creatives “made use of its very unique setting.”

There were several other positives for me. Lynn Robert Berg played Captain Hook just right. And this is the best I have ever seen Nana, the dog, portrayed! I had made a note that “the actor doing the dog is perfect!” And from the curtain call, I deduced that he was John E. Phillips, who also plays Smee. When I finally got through the massive (in a good way) program, I found out that I was correct! (Of course.) Adam Roberts, who plays pirate Bill Jukes, gave me my first laugh of the night. But they need more pirates because those guys are the best part of the show. The audience loved when the kids attacked the pirates.

In addition to Nana, I also loved some other special touches, such as the alligator and the flying. And more than any other show I’ve seen at Theatricum Botanicum, Wendy’s Peter Pan truly makes use of the whole space!

At first, I felt that Gabbi Beauvais, who plays Peter, is wrong for the part, but her athletics are phenomenal, and her “flying” technique is great, so she makes it work. I actually let out an admiring little scream when she did a one-armed cartwheel while holding something in her other hand! I’ve seen only Sutton Foster do that in a show before.

But now I have to be fair, as I am to all shows I review, and discuss the several things that annoyed me about this production.

It’s labeled “A Retelling by *Ellen Geer of the Play by J.M. Barrie.” But why the “retelling?” Much of it is almost the exact script of the musical, without the songs. But, either sadly or interestingly, they went with the ending from the original play, rather than the perfect, gut-wrenching, (for me, anyway,) one from the famous musical rendition, which I mentioned earlier. * [Note: Ellen Geer is the Producing Artistic Director of Theatricum Botanicum. It’s her family’s enterprise—her late father, Will Geer of The Waltons fame, who had been blacklisted from Hollywood in the 1950s, founded it with his wife in the ’70s. The theatre’s history is fascinating—I suggest researching it when you have the time.]

I actually stayed up really late on the night I saw this play, researching it, and everything is a tad murky about what the story by J.M. Barrie actually is. It appears that he added the ending that I like after Peter Pan had already been produced and published, first as a play followed by a novel, (which is a very unusual order of events,) for a long while. So I guess the author-playwright agrees with me on what the ending should be.

And why did Ms. Geer make everyone, except for Captain Hook, American all of a sudden? This story takes place in London!

As to the “Lost Boys,” it’s wonderful that this theatre has a program for local young people to get their acting feet wet. The kids in this show are definitely having fun, but most of them are not quite up to being in a professional production just yet. It is Peter Pan, of course, so their acting doesn’t really matter, but them looking just like neighborhood children running around is a bit distracting. And at least four of them are obvious girls, with braids, but Peter says that no girls are in his Neverland group! So, since they’re attempting to “retell” this tale, anyway, they need to strike that line about boys only.

Since I’m making suggestions for them, I absolutely must correct a few of the actors’ egregious mispronunciations. I, myself, appreciate any opportunity to learn how to say a word when I’m doing it the wrong way, (yes, it has happened three times!,) so I hope that everyone else does, too. I literally gasped when Willow Geer, who plays grown-up Wendy and narrates the whole show, mispronounced “mischievous,” which is like nails on a chalkboard for me. She said “mis-cheev-ious” instead of the correct “mis-cha-vas.” (Look it up for yourselves to see the exact diacritical marks.) I know that many other people say that word incorrectly, as well, but they’re not actors, who, as people who can read, should know better. The ending is “ous,” not “ious.”

And then Robyn Cohen, who plays Mrs. Darling, said “drought” instead of “draft.” In England, the word “draft” is actually spelled “draught,” so I understand her error, but someone needs to correct her pronunciation of it. (That’s why I’m here!) Has she not realized that the sentence would make no sense if the word in it was actually “drought???” And she also said “drownd” for “drown,” but I wouldn’t even mention that one if not for the other wrong words.

Another peccadillo is that when we first see Mr. and Mrs. Darling, they say that they’re going to dinner, and then later on, the other characters say that the couple have gone to a party. Someone needs to fix that, too. (Yes, it can be a dinner party, of course, but then that should be specified for literal thinkers such as myself.)

Also, near the beginning, the grown-up Wendy says that her parents were very poor when she and her brothers were children, but then how do they own all that black tie clothing? (And jewelry for the mom, which I adored, by the way.) And at the end, how are they all of a sudden able to afford to adopt nine extra hungry children? That makes no sense. The producers should have just left the script as is. It’s in the public domain, so I doubt that they would have had to pay any royalties for producing it in the proper way, and it would have been perfect. Perhaps, because Willow Geer has been appearing on stage here with her family since she was two-years-old, (which is an achievement unto itself,) and is now the Associate Producing Artistic Director, she knew that regular Theatricum Botanicum audiences want to see her perform in as many shows as possible, and creating this character, who doesn’t appear in the real show until the very end, was the only way she could fit into this script in a significant way. Willow also voices (of sorts) Tinker Bell, which most of the audience loved, so she could have just done that and narrated the story off-stage, and left the story intact.

I also wish they had left-out the original line of Peter saying,”To die will be an awfully big adventure.” You don’t know if that one sentiment will affect someone who sees it in the wrong way. It’s totally not necessary. Since they changed some other bits of the original script around, this is one line they should have thought better of. And Peter mentions death again near the end. I feel that both lines are inappropriate for these days when mental health is being prioritized, especially for children who are certain to be in the audience.

But the bottom line is that no matter the little annoyances with this particular presentation, the story is still Peter Pan and Theatricum Botanicum is a magical place to take in this tale. So what better activity for a summer’s eve?

In addition to the glorious atmosphere, I must laud this theatre for having the most complete program ever! It’s an actual booklet!!! I read the whole thing, (which took me two days to complete!,) and I absolutely adore the very last Staff credit: Tom Hayduk, Head Gardener. Now that’s a guy who deserves praise for tending to these beautiful surroundings!

Lastly, here are a few reminders for your visit to Theatricum Botanicum:

1) Do not wear your finest attire! It will most likely get a tad grubby, as the outdoors is wont to do to clothing. And, now that I’ve already seen this show, nobody else is looking. (Yes, I do review personal fashion as well as every other category in this e-zine!)

2) Do not wear heels, or even any open-toed shoes, unless you’re a fan of twisted ankles or pebbles between your toes!

3) No matter how hot it is outside during the day, bring jackets, sweatshirts, and blankets. And maybe even hats, scarves, and gloves! It does get that chilly there when the sun goes down. (I piled-on a tee-shirt, a pullover, two sweatshirts, a hat, and a couple of blankets there last week-end. And I’m rarely cold!)

4) Unless you’re rocking a Kardashian butt, bring a cushion! Even the front row chairs could benefit from them. (If you neglect to heed my advice, but then discover you need some padding, you can rent a cushion from them for a nominal fee.)

5) Reserve some time to explore the interesting grounds a bit. And maybe even have a picnic there, as long as you wear your insect repellent.

6) As with all theatres, don’t sit in the front rows if you don’t want to be spit on, (by accident, of course; actors can’t help themselves from letting saliva spew out when they’re emphatic. And, in this show, some of the kids blow raspberries.) At the very least, wear a mask.

And if Peter Pan is not your cup of tea, remember that it plays in repertory with several other assorted choices, so I suggest you pay at least one visit to the incredible venue this summer.

Wendy’s Peter Pan running (in repertory) through October 4, 2024
Theatricum Botanicum
1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd.
310-455-2322  www.theatricum.com