Peter and the Starcatcher
This Tony-winning and Neverland-set hit is finally making Its Australian debut, including a season in Melbourne.
Overview
Cinderella, Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast have all taken to Australia's stages in recent years, bringing beloved narratives that everyone associates with Disney movies from the cinema to the theatre. For the next show that falls into that category, no one needs to grow up. The inhabitants of Neverland, where Peter and the Starcatcher is set, certainly aren't known to.
A five-time Tony Award-winner for its 2012 Broadway season, the production earned theatre's coveted accolades for its costumes, sound design, scenic design and lighting, and for Best Featured Actor in a Play — but the version that's hitting Melbourne comes with a twist. For Peter and the Starcatcher's long-awaited debut Aussie season, which is touring the country Dead Puppet Society (The Wider Earth, Ishmael) is reimagining the stage favourite, which is a prequel to JM Barrie's Peter and Wendy.
Accordingly, from Friday, November 8, 2024 at Arts Centre Melbourne, expect puppets helping to spin a tale that features more than 100 characters, as well as live tunes.
Originally based on Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson's novel Peter and the Starcatchers, then adapted for the stage by Rick Elice (Jersey Boys), the play heads to Neverland before Peter Pan visited — before Captain Hook inspired terror, too. So, it's an origin story, complete with an island, a moustachioed pirate, an orphan without a name and Wendy's mother Molly.
