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<\/a>The stage when dark descends before Act II. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
As a matter of fact, I\u2019ve often been called Peter Pan<\/em> because A) I\u2019ve 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<\/em> children. (And then there\u2019s my famous birthday cake story: itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/holiday-happy-birthday-to-me-2013<\/a>.)<\/p>\n I used to be a purist about Peter Pan<\/em>, 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!)<\/p>\n And over the years, I\u2019ve seen a few other theatrical renditions of the classic story, and have gotten on board with them, albeit a tad reluctantly.<\/p>\n And now comes this latest version, Wendy\u2019s Peter Pan<\/em>, presented by the most unique venue in town, Topanga Canyon\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The picnic area of Theatricum Botanicum. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n As to the play itself, I have to be honest and say that this production was not my favorite. In a minute I\u2019ll 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 \u201cplayful.\u201d And, he appreciated, (as did I,) that the creatives \u201cmade use of its very unique setting.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cthe actor doing the dog is perfect!\u201d 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s Peter Pan<\/em> truly makes use of the whole space!<\/p>\n Lynn Robert Berg and John E. Phillips. Photo by Ian Flanders, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n At first, I felt that Gabbi Beauvais, who plays Peter, is wrong for the part, but her athletics are phenomenal, and her \u201cflying\u201d 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\u2019ve seen only Sutton Foster do that in a show before.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n It\u2019s labeled \u201cA Retelling by *Ellen Geer of the Play by J.M. Barrie.\u201d But why the \u201cretelling?\u201d 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\u2019s her family\u2019s enterprise\u2014her late father, Will Geer of The Waltons<\/em> fame, who had been blacklisted from Hollywood in the 1950s, founded it with his wife in the \u201970s. The theatre\u2019s history is fascinating\u2014I suggest researching it when you have the time.]<\/p>\n 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<\/em> like after Peter Pan<\/em> 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<\/em> be.<\/p>\n And why did Ms. Geer make everyone, except for Captain Hook, American all of a sudden? This story takes place in London!<\/p>\n As to the \u201cLost Boys,\u201d it\u2019s 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<\/em>, of course, so their acting doesn\u2019t 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\u2019re attempting to \u201cretell\u201d this tale, anyway, they need to strike that line about boys only.<\/p>\n Gabbi Beauvais and the Lost Boys. Photo by Ian Flanders.<\/p><\/div>\n Since I\u2019m making suggestions for them, I absolutely must<\/em> correct a few of the actors\u2019 egregious mispronunciations. I, myself, appreciate any opportunity to learn how to say a word when I\u2019m doing it the wrong way, (yes, it has<\/em> 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 \u201cmischievous,\u201d which is like nails on a chalkboard for me. She said \u201cmis-chee<\/em>v-i<\/em>ous\u201d instead of the correct \u201cmis-cha<\/em>-vas<\/em>.\u201d (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\u2019re not actors, who, as people who can read, should know better. The ending is \u201cous,\u201d not \u201ci<\/em>ous.\u201d<\/p>\n And then Robyn Cohen, who plays Mrs. Darling, said “drought” instead of “draft.” In England, the word \u201cdraft\u201d is actually spelled \u201cdraught,\u201d so I understand her error, but someone needs to correct her pronunciation of it. (That\u2019s why I\u2019m<\/em> here!) Has she not realized that the sentence would make no sense if the word in it was actually \u201cdrought???\u201d And she also said \u201cdrownd<\/em>\u201d for \u201cdrown,\u201d but I wouldn\u2019t even mention that one if not for the other wrong words.<\/p>\n Another peccadillo is that when we first see Mr. and Mrs. Darling, they say that they\u2019re going to dinner<\/em>, and then later on, the other characters say that the couple have gone to a party<\/em>. Someone needs to fix that, too. (Yes, it can<\/em> be a dinner party, of course, but then that should be specified for literal thinkers such as myself.)<\/p>\n 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<\/em> 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<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n But the bottom line is that no matter the little annoyances with this particular presentation, the story is still Peter Pan<\/em> and Theatricum Botanicum is a magical place to take in this tale. So what better activity for a summer\u2019s eve?<\/p>\n In addition to the glorious atmosphere, I must laud this theatre for having the most complete program ever<\/em>! It\u2019s an actual booklet<\/em>!!! 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\u2019s<\/em> a guy who deserves praise for tending to these beautiful surroundings!<\/p>\n The stage before the show begins. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Lastly, here are a few reminders for your visit to Theatricum Botanicum:<\/p>\n 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\u2019ve<\/em> already seen this show, nobody else is looking. (Yes, I do<\/em> review personal fashion as well as every other category in this e-zine!)<\/p>\n 2) Do not wear heels, or even any open-toed shoes, unless you\u2019re a fan of twisted ankles or pebbles between your toes!<\/p>\n 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<\/em> get that<\/em> 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\u2019m rarely<\/em> cold!)<\/p>\n 4) Unless you\u2019re 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.)<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 6) As with all<\/em> theatres, don’t sit in the front rows if you don’t want to be spit on, (by accident, of course; actors can\u2019t help themselves from letting saliva spew out when they\u2019re emphatic. And, in this show, some of the kids blow raspberries.) At the very least, wear a mask.<\/p>\n And if Peter Pan<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n Wendy\u2019s Peter Pan<\/strong><\/em> running (in repertory) through\u00a0October 4, 2024<\/strong> WENDY\u2019S PETER PAN The quickest way for a theatre to get me there is to dangle the words \u201cPeter Pan\u201d 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<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n Theatricum Botanicum<\/strong>
\n 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd.<\/strong>
\n 310-455-2322\u00a0\u00a0www.theatricum.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"