econd star to the right and straight on til— viral video ballroom waltzing? Shut the fort door, since when does Peter Pan have Wendy being obsessed with going viral so that she can help pay for her medical school training because she wants to grow up and be a surgeon?

~*~*~*ANGRY TINKLING & CHIMING NOISES*~*~*~

What was that, Tinker Bell? In the newly refurbished national tour launch production that’s leaping into the air with lovely thoughts straight out of Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre? Oooh. Neat.

~*~*~*MORE ANGRY TINKLING & CHIMING NOISES*~*~*~

Rude, Tinker Bell, rude. Yes, I can see that you’re angry you’re still just a whirling ball of light and that nobody bothered to give you your own song in the revamp of this cherished stage classic, but you’ll have to take that up with Larissa FastHorse (additional book) and Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Amanda Green (additional lyrics) and Jule Styne (additional music.)

~*~*~*THE ANGRIEST TINKLING & CHIMING NOISES EVER*~*~*~

Ouch! Tinker Bell! That wasn’t very nice! Yes I know you didn’t get a dance number either— go pinch or poke Lorin Lattaro (choreography) or Jerome Robbins (original director/choreographer/adapter) or Lonny Price (current director) not me! I’m just here to give my opinion!

~*~*~*SUPER SWEET CHIMING AND TINKLING*~*~*~

What? Oh yes, yes of course I’ll mention Paul Kieve— your personal assistant (“Tinker Bell” Design) but don’t you think we should tell them some other things first? Ouch! That’s it— I’m banishing you to the drawer! Good grief! I can see why Peter Pan was so eager to trap her in the drawer! She’s quite the fairy to be getting on with!

Now where was I? Oh yes, my apologies! The newly launched National Tour of Peter Pan is not your grandma’s Pan, as it were. The retooling and reimaging of the show attempts (and for the most part succeeds) in correcting some of the errors of the time from which it originated, brings the narrative forward into a modern 21^st century household, tightens up the overall plot and pacing (they’ve finally done away with that ridiculous Jungle-Animal Ballet and replaced it with a fun pirate number that actually makes sense!) and added some more meaning to the characters’ relationships as well as stronger voices and agency overall for the women portrayed in the show. Overall it’s a marked improvement from the source material. But a caution to the adults in the audience— this production of Peter Pan is both juvenile and simplistic. It lacks the subtle finesse of adult humors (the way musicals like Shrek and SpongeBob have jokes that sail over the kids’ heads but still keep the adults entertained) and it lacks empathetic complexity (the way musicals like Disney’s Frozen address stronger, deeper emotional topics.) So be prepared for a very well-assembled two-hour ‘children-focused’ musical.

Tinker Bell may have been complaining about the choreography— but that’s because she didn’t get her own dance number— however Lorin Latarro’s choreography is engaging, if a little sloppy in places. The turtle-tap routine which pops up in “I Won’t Grow Up” is a clever way to sneak some extra tap-moves into this show. The number features Peter Pan and the Lost Boys showcasing all kinds of fun, highly-enthusiastic moves throughout the song. The same can be said for Latarro’s work in “Friends Forever”— the newly created act-one ending song which features the Lost Boys, Tiger Lily and her Tribe, as well as Wendy and the Darling children all ‘dance-battling’ until they finally realize it is better to work together and be friends than continue to fight one another. The routine has flavors of a traditional “Sharks vs Jetts” dance-battle but again the moves are executed with something less than the polished refinement one might expect from a National Tour. Latarro keeps minimal choreography on board for the various pirate songs, though you do get a lot of arm-swinging and stomping during “We Hate Those Kids”— which is the new Act II opener (done to the tune of “We Won’t Grow Up”, featuring pirate-y lyrics about how awful the kids in Neverland are) and a lot of comical mince-shuffling during both “Hook’s Tango” and “Hook’s Tarantella.” The overall word for the attempt at choreography in this show should be aerobic.

The Fight Music and Dance Arrangements (David Dabbon) and Fight Direction (Rick Sordelet & Christian Kelly-Sordelet) are somewhat of a mixed bag. While fighting with swords when one character is in full flight-rigging is no small feat— and one that this team accomplishes superbly— the more basic fight choreography feels muddled, uncertain, and at times looks cheesy but not cheesy enough to make the statement that they’re going for ‘pantomime-style-over-the-top’ silliness. For every good swashbuckling moment there seems to be a sloppy one. And the dance-fight that breaks out between Tiger Lily and the Pirates in the middle of the first act needs tighter pacing and fewer stop-pauses between the actual interactive moves.

~*~*~* TINKLING & CHIMING NOISES AT AN ALARMINGLY LOUD AND OBNOXIOUS RATE*~*~*~

How— how did you get out of that drawer, Tinker Bell? Ah. How very clever of you to slip through the keyhole. I am not a Silly Ass— you will reserve name-calling for Wendy and Peter, if you please! Yes, yes, I’m getting to talking about your “assistant.” Paul Kieve (Tinker Bell Designer…though according to Miss Bell…her…um…assistant) has really put some theatrical basics back in play when it comes to creating the sprightly fairy. I won’t expose the total magic and theatrical effect— half the thrill of seeing Peter Pan comes from witnessing the magic of flight, fairy dust, and the fairy herself! But it’s excellently well handled— particularly when she flips from person to person to being splashed across the backdrop, zipping too and fro. (Unclear if her particular style of communication— tinkling, chiming, xylophone-sounding bell tones— should be attributed to Sound Designer Kai Harada, the Electronic Music Design Team or Percussionist Brian Ganch…but we’re going to say all three because I don’t want Tinker Bell pulling my hair again. Though she be but little, that pixie can pull!) Kieve’s magic in ‘assisting’ Tinker Bell into existence is particularly impressive.

So too is the work of Paul Rubin and his stunning flight choreography. Everyone comes to Peter Pan hoping to witness magic and adventure and excitement, but the real thrill is in getting to watch Peter Pan fly! Rubin has a mystical magical might about his aerial work— every time Pan launches up through that second story window you really get the feeling that he’s shot up from some lower space in the air. The truly wild feature of Rubin’s work for this tour is blended with the projection designs of David Bengali. When the Darling Nursery breaks away as Peter and the three children take off in flight toward Neverland, Bengali unleashes a series of magical sky projections and the kids are able to twist and turn about while suspended, making it look like authentic flight through the night sky. It’s breathtaking. Rubin incorporates flips and tumbles and all sorts of maneuvers for Peter’s track, particularly when duking it out with Hook on the pirate ship. And the “ins and outs” of getting into “flight” and out of “flight” are nearly seamless, a visual par that is expected and delivered with this production.

~*~*~*LOTS AND LOTS OF TINKLING AND CHIMING*~*~*~

I was getting to that! Thank you! The story as a whole, Tinker Bell would like me to remind you, has been adapted to overcome the source material’s challenging beginnings. And while most of the adaptations are a definite improvement, there are some that feel questionable and some that feel like a ‘course-correction’ just a bit too far into the modern world. The mermaids, for example? Reduced to a potion ingredient and mentioned in-name only late in the second act. Ultimately the revision of the libretto is a solid one; putting female voices and agency at the forefront (Wendy and Tiger Lily work together more often than not and very quickly convince Peter Pan to come around to the idea that they are all equals and that he shouldn’t be put-off by the fact that they’re both ‘girls’) and giving purpose and meaning to the island-native narrative of the story. Tiger Lily’s tribe— an amalgamation of lost nations whose people have come together in Neverland to keep their individual cultures alive— has more featured stage time, backstory, and purpose than the original (and the tour opening announcement pays reverent respect to the native lands upon which The Hippodrome now stands.) For as amazing as the additional libretto material from Larissa FastHorse is, one does have to question whether an animated, eyeball-less, talking/singing moon is necessary. Was that an Easter Egg snuck in there? Because it feels like it flew in from another show and got lost along the way. I’d happily trade the nightmare-fuel talking moon for the mermaids any day of the week.

Goodness. Tinker Bell has got me so mixed up I can’t remember what I’ve reported on and what I haven’t. I know we mentioned David Bengali’s projection designs— which not only come in handy for Tinker Bell but also when Peter is trying to reunite with his shadow. And they create stunning backdrops for all parts of Neverland. Working in tandem with Scenic Designer Anna Louizos and Lighting Designer Amith Chandrashaker, the overall aesthetic of the production is quite striking. The pirate ship even has flavors of old-world animation— as if it popped to life on stage from a sketchbook somewhere. Add into the mix the unique costume designer of Sarafina Bush and you’ve got a visually enticing production for everyone to marvel over as the characters sing, dance, story-tell, and fly. Peter Pan has a more traditional green look about him, The Lost Boys, Pirates, and Tiger Lily’s Tribe somewhat more modern and yet oddly out of space and time simultaneously. Hook still looks as you expect Hook to look.

The Lost Boys (at this performance, Charles Antenen, Jonah Barricklo, Leo Gallegos, Brandon Gille, Camden Everett Kwok, Michah Turner Lee) have good fun running around with Peter Pan, particularly during their feature song “I Won’t Grow Up.” Same can be said for the Pirates (Christina Hélène Braa, Jordan T. DeLeon, Shefali Deshpande, Ryan Perry Marks, Michael Marrero, Kenny Ramos, Hannah Schmidt, Kiara Williams,) with their roaring number at the top of Act II, “We Hate Those Kids.” This band of merry rapscallions spends a lot of time providing backing vocals and backing footwork for Hook during “Hook’s Tango” and “Hook’s Tarantella” and “Hook’s Waltz.” Did we mention that every pirate doubles up as a member of Tiger Lily’s tribe? But it’s done in such a clever way that you always feel like there are more ensemble members on stage than there actually are? The ensemble are working double and triple time in this production— playing pirates, tribe members, and learning dances, moves, and songs for both; it’s pretty wild. Special shout-out to Christina Hélène Braa, who not only tackles being a pirate and Gyo ti (of the Olmec tribe) but plays the crawling Crocodile AND Jane at the very, very end of the production.

~*~*~*TINKLING AND CLANGING AND CHIMING*~*~*~

What did I forget? Oh! Well that’s— fine. Tinker Bell thinks I should mention how clever it is that they changed the name of one of The Lost Boys from “Slightly Soiled” to “Tumble Dry.” Let’s hope that keeps her happy for now.

~*~*~*TINKLES AND CHIMES APPROVINGLY*~*~*~

Thank goodness. Now, if you want little comedic blunders, Smee (Kurt Perry) is your pirate! With a quivering cowardice that is nothing short of comical, you get a lot of laughs at Perry’s Smee’s expense. He’s quite the comedian when it comes to reacting, albeit in an over-the-top fashion, to Hook and Hook’s hook. The gasping, high-pitched breath intake becomes a humorous callback and Perry ensures gets a laugh every time. And when Perry squeal-cries to abandon ship, I’m pretty sure they can hear him all the way over at Camden Yards.

Mrs. Darling (Shefali Deshpande) gets precious little stage time in this revamp of the story, but her voice is beautiful and you get to hear it during “Tender Shepherd” both in the opening of the performance and again as a reprise near the show’s conclusion. Deshpande plays a modern, sensible mother who just wants her kids to have a clean room, good health and hygiene, and to perhaps not grow up so quickly. The modern but loveable edge of Mr. Darling (Cody Garcia) is actually quite endearing. Mr. Darling is not the typical work-obsessed, aloof and detached father-figure of the character’s previous iterations. This Mr. Darling is a little stressed out, a little panicked, but doesn’t shout at the kids with anger or malice. Garcia as Mr. Darling is actually very charming, living up to the eponymy of the character.

Playing Tiger Lily with robust stage presence and surefire confidence, Raye Zaragoza gives the audience the strong female leader character that everyone hoped for in this revamp and rewrite. Making fast friends with Wendy (Hawa Kamara) and showing careful leadership skills of strength through compassion and fairness, Zaragoza creates a Tiger Lily character that is an excellent role model and is someone that the audience readily loves and cheers for. You get to hear her singing strong and clearly during “Friends Forever” and during a special little reprise of “I Gotta Crow”, a three-person number that features Tiger Lily, Peter Pan, and Michael Darling (at this performance, the precocious and adorable Reed Epley.)

Playing Wendy Darling comes with great responsibility. You get a burgeoning modernity from Hawa Kamara, particularly when it comes to making requests and demands of Peter Pan, but all of her interactions, whether with Pan and The Lost Boys or with her own two brothers, Michael and John (at this performance, William Foon), feel authentically genuine. Her stage presence is grounded, her maternal instincts are lightly tempered with that teenage need to still be self-expressive. Kamara is a good fit for the slight reconfiguration of the Wendy Darling character.

~*~*~*HORRIBLE CLANGS AND CHIMES AND TINKLES OF PROTEST*~*~*~

Oh would you stop it? I’m not going to skip over this part just because it’s about the bad guy! Tinker Bell! Rude. You’re going back in that drawer! Forgive me, but it seems like Tinker Bell has zero interest in my extolling the virtues and praises of Cody Garcia (Mx. Garcia, I’m sure it has nothing to do with you…it’s Hook she’s particularly adverse to, you see) in the role of Captain Hook!

First of all, Garcia is winning the audience over with that glorious Scottish accent! It just adds this level of feral humor that keeps those of us ‘children-at-heart’ in the audience engaged with all the antics of the dread pirate captain. Garcia balances the nature of Captain Hook, toeing the fine, fine line between cartoon-villain (a la Disney 2-D animations circa the late 80’s and early 90’s) and nefarious baddie. There’s a silliness and yet a seriousness to Garcia’s portrayal making this Captain one heck of a hook for the performance as a whole. The real ace-in-the-hole of Garcia’s performance, however, is that glorious singing voice that we get treated to far too infrequently in this production. You might jump up and start waltzing around with Garcia’s Hook, hearing that smooth, wonderous singing voice in “Hook’s Waltz” if the character wasn’t such an evil cad. Hats off— or hooks off? All of the applause and ovation to the stunning, sensational Cody Garcia as Captain Hook!

Coming into his own as the titular character, Nolan Almeida delivers this exacting balance of boy-who-never-grew-up blended with chimerical creature from storybook legend come to life. You get this awkward innocence from Almeida’s performance, particularly when he interacts with Wendy early on. (There’s the slight juxtaposition of Almeida’s grown-up-sounding voice when he’s singing loud and proud for all to hear, which doesn’t gel well with those expecting him to sound ‘more boyish’ in nature, but I’ll take a strong, well-trained voice like Almeida’s any day of the week over an actual voice in the puberty-transition-range.) There’s a cocky charisma that Almeida delivers in little dribbles; just enough to be seen as the Lost Boys’ leader but not too forceful as to easily back down into a camaraderie between Tiger Lily and Wendy when the time comes. Almeida’s aerial work is superb and when he fights with Hook it’s totally wild! With vocal strength and prowess he leads the Darling children through “I’m Flying” with this infectious joy that spreads like fairy dust! There’s also a really tragically beautiful moment—

~*~*~*TINKLING AND CHIMING*~*~*~

Okay, okay, there’s TWO tragically beautiful moments that Peter Pan gets in this production, but honestly, Tinker Bell? We can’t talk about the other one when he’s all alone on that big blank stage (to cover a certain scenic change) with a certain fairy because that’s what we here in grown-land call a SPOLIER. So we’re going to have to let the audience use their imagination for that part and talk about the other really tragically beautiful moment and you’re just going to have to pipe down and be okay with that. A number, written for this new retooling of the production, “When I Went Home” gives you back story and emotional depth for Peter Pan; it’s a truly striking moment, one that Almeida delivers divinely— balancing both the emotional gravitas of the song and his immaturity as a child who hasn’t grown up to understand in that song in a truly tragic and lovely way. The other moment, as mentioned, would spoil too much, but it’s equally heartfelt and truly amazing.

Peter Pan won’t be in Charm City for very long. It has a whole nation to tour! And it’ll be thinking lovely thoughts of flying on very, very soon. It’s perfect for all the little ones in your life— be sure to get your tickets to see this national tour launch from Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre.  

Running Time: 2 hours and 10 minutes including one intermission

Peter Pan launches its national tour from Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre on February 21^st 2024 and plays through February 25^th 2024 the Main Stage of The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center- 12 North Eutaw Street Baltimore, MD 21201.  For tickets call (410) 837-7400 or purchase them online.