What if you can’t remember the last time you were able to let go, have fun, and just be yourself? Well isn’t that exactly what theatre is for? A place to let go, have fun, and just be yourself! And Children’s Playhouse of Maryland has always been that place for all of the up-and-coming theatrical talents that pass through their doors over in Essex. Celebrating the holiday season with a very special, brand-new-production (written and conceived by their musical director and her father) Children’s Playhouse of Maryland is thrilled to present Neverland: A New Musical. With Music, Book, and Lyrics by Charlotte Evans Crowley & David Evans, this reimagining of J.M. Barrie’s iconic classic, Peter Pan, will take you on a journey to Neverland not quite like you remember and somehow, almost exactly like you remember. Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt, with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans Crowley, and Choreography by Rachel Miller, this good-time, feel-good production has a lot of nostalgia, a lot whimsy, and a great time for those who won’t grow up, and for those who are still growing-up at heart.
When you think of Neverland and Peter Pan, a few things immediately come to mind. Mermaid Lagoon. The Pirates on the Jolly Roger and the leadership of the ferocious Captain Hook. The Lost Boys. The Crocodile. And of course, John, Michael, and Wendy— the Darling Children. And Neverland has all of those things plus some other unique quirks and fun surprises. David Evans and Charlotte Evans Crowley have constructed a version of Peter Pan this is pretty true to what most people recall about the boy who won’t grow up and the misadventures in Neverland with the darling children. The libretto feels fondly like exploring your grandma’s attic— lots of nostalgia, a whole jumble of things to untangle, a little crowded, and what feels like an eternity of playtime that only actually lasts a couple of hours. There’s a Sega Video Gaming system which has landed itself in Neverland. And it’s Lost Kids, not just lost boys. Peter, who is referred to as ‘Pete’ by the Lost Kids, zips around on a skateboard (anyone catching Rufio vibes a la Hook?) And there’s a magical Neverbird, who is rare and almost extinct. The music is fun and funky and really upbeat— especially for that zany number “Funky Food Tree”, which explains the question that so many have— “what do you eat in Neverland?” (The answer is candy. CANDY CANDY CANDY. Would you expect anything less?)
There are diverging plots— like “Villain” from that Sega game we mentioned? There’s the slick-talking watch-salesman Crocodile as well as Wendy, who is clearly a moody-toody teenager from jump street, trying to introduce Peter to the notion of dating, And Hook’s hook goes missing! The latter of those two actually creates a hilarious opportunity for the Captain to have a range of household instruments affixed to his missing hand— including a cleverly placed Crab Mallet! There’s a whole bunch of adorable little references to a nostalgic time (the late 80’s and early 90’s, Crowley’s childhood era— and mine too!) and some more modern things that bridges the gap between today’s kids and the kids who grew up when we did. It’s clever, it’s fun, it’s silly but full of heart. It’s a solid script, with particularly clever lyrics (my favorite is during “…he’s a mean old codger, he’s the captain of the Roger…” referring to Hook during “Pirate’s Rap.” Then again, Evans and Crowley also rhyme ‘desire-it’ with ‘pirate’ so we’ve got a healthy balance of clever and corny all throughout.) It’s a fun, vibrant show, and a great opportunity for the kids at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland to get to experience it.
Building Neverland also has a balance. You have Technical Director Diane M. Smith, who serves as the show’s Set Designer working with Tyrell Stanley, the show’s lighting designer, and SlShowTech to create a sturdy blend of real scenic pieces on stage and the living, pulsing projections created in the background. The best piece of the set is the roll-on ~80’s/90’s style big-box television screen, in which Villain and her Minions are ‘trapped.’ It’s so sparkly! You also get an array of fun motion lighting from Stanley’s design work. And if you think Neverland is covered in glittery, shimmery pixie-dust? Costume Coordinator Lizzie Jaspan and her assistant Theresa Foggo have got you covered in spades when it comes to sparkles and sequins! The pirates are all blinged out in red, the mermaids each have their own sparkly shade (pink, blue, and silver) and Mr. Crocodile is radiant in that reflective green suit he’s nearly blinding. The only people who aren’t bursting with sparkles are The Lost Kids, the Darling Children, and Pete (Tink of course has sparkle-bling happening for her.) Jaspan and Foggo have worked really hard to engage the imagination with all of the fabulous costumes they’ve chosen to represent Crowley and Evans’ vision of Neverland.
Stylistically, the songs in Neverland are diverse. There are plenty of opportunities for this talented bunch of kids (under the musical direction of Charlotte Evans Crowley and live-percussion performance from Lisa Wood) to showcase just what they’re working with in the singing department. There’s the more ballad-like lullaby style song called “Lullaby” and there’s also two separate sets of Pirate raps. Hook even complains that in his day there were no “hip-hopping pirates” just sea shanties. And you guessed it— they follow that number up with a well-sung, hearty-sounding sea-shanty, called “Life of a Pirate” (where they rhyme ‘desire-it’ with ‘pirate.’) There are jazzier numbers, like “Mr. Crocodile” and power-drive numbers like “Rise Up”, featured near the end of the production. Adding to all the excitement is the high-octan choreography being synced up with these songs by Choreographer Rachel Miller. “Pirate Rap” in particularly features a lot of gymnastics, including Smee (Colton Roberts) doing a double-legged coffee-grinder style move! “Welcome to the Island” features a lot of really intense choreography, which amps up the energy flow between cast and audience. There’s a lot to absorb and enjoy from a visual, aural, musical, and dancing standpoint but anyway you look at it, Neverland is tons of fun. Director Liz Boyer Hunnicutt works with these young performers to make them more than just kids reciting lines; you really get the smarmy charm oozing out of Mr. Crocodile and Hunnicutt helps Captain Hook find the balance between flamboyant-Disney-esque villain and someone to truly be feared. Hunnicutt teaches nuance and character choices, which is what ultimately puts a CPM show above the rest.
The ensemble bench is deep for this production and yet you never get the sense that there’s a massive amount of kids on stage (even when they’re all on stage.) You’ve got The Lost Kids (Noah Anderson, Amelia Christine Campbell, Katelynn Cockey, Noah Freeman, Ronald Gusso, Bentley Hines, Parker Hines, Eva Marx, Pablo Castro Mendez, Riley Segal) who are ablaze with excitement when ‘Pete’ returns with a Wendy Bird and the other two Darling children. You get to hear them really singing along in the all-cast number “Welcome to the Island” as well as near the end of the production, where several of the Lost Kids get mentioned by name, during “Rise Up.” It’s worth nothing that Eva Marx doubles up as the Darling Children’s beloved nursery-dog, Nana in the opening scene!
Remember one of the unique special characters I mentioned, the Neverbird? There’s one ‘lone’ Neverbird (Amelia Watts, who when she is not Neverbird-ing, she’s a pirate! Arrrgh!) who does a great deal of ballet-style dancing, right up until she finds her tribe of other Neverbirds (Noah Petrich, Emily Foggo, and Lily Anderson, also a pirate.) Lily Anderson doubles up, in addition to being one of the ballet-driven Neverbird flock and a pirate, as Peter’s Shadow. There is wonderful dance-chase all around the Darling Nursery at the beginning of the production that really showcases Anderson’s dancer skills— including a magical spark-shower-cannon exit! All four of these fantastic performers have impressive dance skills to showcase, particularly when it comes to the graceful but energetic styling of ballet.
Arrrgh! Thar be PIRATES!!! And a whole ship of them at that! Lily Anderson, Jack Atkins, Kaitlyn Bell, Mars Bell, Xander Bell, Austin Buerhaus, Christian DeBaufre, Emily Foggo, Emma Kessler, Noah Petrich, Amelia Watts, and Jayde Wilde make up our fearsome hip-hopping, dancing, and sea-shantying pirates! Both of their ditties, “Pirate’s Rap” and “Pirate’s Beat” really snag the audience in with their precision, rhythm and overall delivery. DeBaufre and Kessler also serve in the roles of Mr. & Mrs. Darling, respectively. Emma Kessler gives us maternal sweetness when it comes to voicing Mrs. Darling; she is the first person to sing “Lullaby” during the performance and it’s softly gentle, like a true lullaby trying to assuage your worries away for a good, safe night’s sleep.
Spearheading up these pirates is the odiously over-the-top Captain Hook (Victor Scigala) and you can see hints of the Disney Captain from the original 1953 film as well as some Dustin Hoffman bits from 1991 all wound up into this character. Scigala has that balance— ferocious villain with a healthy smattering of silliness so as not to be too frightening. (That’s how Disney Villains have succeeding in being popular characters for nearly a century; balance.) Scigala lends a smooth sound to “Hook’s Lament” but doesn’t let the character become too sappy. And the visual gig between the very tall Scigala, and the young and much shorter Mr. Smee (Colton Roberts) adds hilarity to their interactions. Shiver me timbers, Colton Roberts makes Mr. Smee one of the funniest things on the stage. You get a great, animated response from him whenever he speaks or sings or responds to Captain Hook. There’s some slapstick, cartoonish violence (both with Hook berating Smee and when Villain bonks her two minions on the head with an oversized inflatable hammer) that Roberts really shines at delivering. He gets this epic moment, a true pun joke, where he runs off stage screaming “Wait for Smeeeee!” and the whole audience erupts in stitches. Roberts has excellent comedic timing and a wonderful voice with superb articulation for leading “Pirate’s Rap” and “Pirate’s Beat.”
Speaking of The Minions (Caroline Anderson and Temperance Oppel, literally just referred to as Minion1 and Minion2) they are the perfect comic accessory to The Villain (Allyson Gray.) They are giddy and jibber in delight when they think they’re doing good, and their unison talk is perfectly timed. Gray, as the completely fictional addition from Crowley and Evans’ own mind, has an attitude and a voice that can be heard for miles when she gets her solo feature “In 3D.” It’s never truly specified which game she’s meant to be paying homage to, but Gray’s shining space-like costume in silver and purple is truly out of this world and matches her stellar vocal and performing talent.
They are not the daughters of Triton…though two of their names are borrowed from that lineup! Meet Athena (Gracie Roberts), Atina (Lillian Colon), and Alana (Angelina Ferris) also known as The Mermaids of Mermaid Lagoon. Their shimmery, scale-print pants and brightly vibrant colored wigs give them all the whimsical feel of being true fantasy creatures. And they are all just boy-crazy over Pete. Roberts, Colon, and Ferris get their own feature number, “My Blue Lagoon” which has this slightly “Anderson Sisters” feel to it, at least in the three-part harmony and ‘written for alto/tenor’ sense. This trio of performers have a great deal of fun together on stage, especially once they encounter Pete in person toward the end of the story.
Sparkling like the star that he is, Teagle Walker gives a vivacious new life to Mr. Crocodile. (I’m trying to recall a version of anybody’s Peter Pan where the crocodile talks, not to mention this one sings, and I cannot, so I’m going to venture out on a limb and say this is a first…at least for me…talking, singing, dancing, charming, schmoozing crocodile character…) Walker is a real triple threat in this production. He sings with a swanky intonation and a good, clear sustain that showcases his vocal range and capabilities. He dances with a slickness that lends itself to the style of the number, “Mr. Crocodile”, wherein he engages The Mermaid Trio (Roberts, Colon, Ferris) to do some almost Fosse-like choreography with him. And he’s got the comic-character-acting card down pat. He’s cheeky, his timing is tack-sharp, and he’s just a ball, living his best life in this hilariously personified character.
When Peter bursts through the window at the Darling home, he of course has Tink (Chloe Clifton) in tow. Sassy and moody, not unlike Wendy (Miranda Cockey) she’s got some of her own dust to flick when it comes to her opinions on Wendy and the whole “bring the humans back to Neverland” thing. Clifton has good dancing and performing instincts as well as a solid voice and you get to hear and see this both during “Welcome to the Island” and “Rise Up.” Clifton and Cockey (as Wendy) are essentially playing two sides of the same coin without ever realizing that they have a whole lot in common. Miranda Cockey as Wendy has mastered the art of being a moody teenager (or even tweenager, as its unclear just how much older she’s meant to be) particularly when it comes to her young brothers, John (Zoey Cashin) and Michael (Lucas Castros Mendez.) Both Cashin and Mendez are adorable in their respective roles, with Cashin’s character being obsessed with video games and Mendez just being too cute for words. Cockey’s Wendy strikes an important balance between trying to find her own happiness…being herself in Neverland and trying to get a kiss out of Peter Pan (Hershey’s kisses, that’s a modernized nod to the way kisses are traded in Barrie’s book)…and being somewhat maternal, particularly when her brothers and The Lost Kids have her sing “Lullaby” (the reprise.) She has a beautiful voice that is well suited for this ballad.
Bringing youthful exuberance to life the way only a Peter Pan truly could, Owen Ryscavage really gives us a modern Pete, as it were. Riding in on his skateboard, wanting to play all day (but still wanting to play real games, like tag and capture the flag and not just video games), you get the sense that Ryscavage is channeling an ‘everyman’ childhood into his portrayal. And he’s got an impressive voice with a great capacity for holding sustained notes. He launches “Never, Neverland” and gives the audience a lovely sound in that number as well as during “Rise Up”, where he inspires The Lost Kids and Tink to get on the move so that they can all save the day.
It’s truly a treat to see something so new and refreshing, so fun and hilarious, and thoroughly enjoyable as Neverland: A New Musical. It’s easy to see how much heart everyone involved with the show has put into this production and all of the young performers on stage are radiating their joy out into the audience; it’s an excellent experience. Don’t miss Neverland: A New Musical at Children’s Playhouse of Maryland before it flies off to the second star to the right and straight on til morning!
Running Time: 1 hour and 50 minutes with one intermission
Neverland: A New Musical plays through December 17th 2023 with Children’s Playhouse of Maryland in the Lecture Hall of the Administration Building at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex Campus— 7201 Rossville Boulevard in Baltimore, MD. For tickets call the box office at (443) 840-2426 or purchase them online.
