‘Peter Pan’ flies into T.O.

Melissa Lyons and Steve Vinovich

By Lydia Sargent

Special to The Acorn

To the delight of local children, "Peter Pan" flew into the Thousand Oak’s Civic Arts Plaza last Friday night. Produced by Cabrillo Music Theater, "Peter Pan" will continue in the Fred Kavli Theater until Sun., Aug. 4.

The performance, which started at 8 p.m., lasted roughly two and a half-hours and captivated the entire audience, which included many young children. The youngsters were rapt, watching their peers dance and sing with gusto. And it was their peers who stole the show in this high-energy performance of "Peter Pan." The most engaging performances in the show came not from the leads, Peter Pan and Hook, which were performed well by Melissa Lyons and Steve Vinovich, but from the youngest members of the cast; the Darling children and the Lost Boys.

The play begins in the nursery of the Darling residence where Mrs. Darling (Demetria Clemons) is putting her children to bed. Mr. Darling (Vinovich) enters and becomes angry with Nana (Paul Berg, in a dog suit). He ties Nana up outside the nursery while he and Mrs. Darling go to dinner, leaving the children alone in the nursery. Fulfilling Mrs. Darling’s earlier concerns, Peter Pan (Lyons) returns to the nursery in search of his shadow. The eldest Darling child, Wendy (Kelly Stables) awakens and finds Peter crying about his shadow. When she helps him by sewing on his shadow, he invites her to return to Neverland with him so she can mother the Lost Boys. Wendy wakes up her brother John (William Grubb) and Michael (Eric Austin Young). The three learn to fly like Peter and away they go to Neverland.

Act two commences with entertaining performances by the pirates and Indians of Neverland. The costumes and dancing sequences keep the scenes vivid and entertaining. Costume coordinator Chris Steele kept the stage interesting to enhance the bright costumes for the pirates, Indians and the Lost Boys. The second act, the longest of the three, features several noteworthy performances, in particular those of the Lost Boys.

The Lost Boys, portrayed by both boys and girls in this production, do a fabulous job with the songs "Wendy" and "I Won’t Grow Up." Choreographer Paige Porter did an excellent job with the children and the 15 or so Lost Boys keep up with the songs, both in dance and in characterizations. "Ugg-a-Wugg" and "The Pow-Wow Polka" were particularly high-energy dance numbers involving the Lost Boys and the Indians.

Act three begins Peter Pan’s fight against Hook and the Pirates to save the Lost Boys and Wendy who’ve been kidnapped.

Peter Pan succeeds, of course, and Wendy, John and Michael make their way back home to the Darling nursery, bringing with them a gaggle of Lost Boys for Mr. and Mrs. Darling to adopt. The show ends with Wendy, many years later, putting her own daughter to bed in the Darling nursery. Peter Pan appears, ready to take Wendy back to Neverland for spring cleaning, and instead takes Wendy’s daughter, who’s eager to experience flying and the wonders of Neverland.

Peter Pan is a classic tale, delightful for children and adults alike. This was a strong performance with talented actors who try hard to keep the audience entertained. Vinovich, who plays double roles in the performance, does a fine job with Hook but sometimes lacks the energy needed for the role, which should be both scary and comical at the same time.

Lyons has a strong voice and does a fine job with the role of Peter Pan, though she is often upstaged by the younger actors, in particular Austin Young, who plays little Michael.

Stables does a great job with Wendy and is very motherly despite her small stature. Where the adult actors sometimes failed in this performance, the children actors succeeded and did a remarkable job with difficult roles. All lasted the entire performance in character, did a fabulous job with several song and dance numbers, and really showed the potential they have for show business.

The youngest cast members, 6 year olds Austin Young and Juliette Goglia, who played one of the Lost Boys, in particular did a great job, with steadfast attention to what was happening around. The girls and boys (most of them teenagers) playing Indians also did a great job with high-energy dance performances.

It’s a fun production for children to watch as well, though there are several lines of profanity when Tinkerbell refers to Peter Pan as an "ass." However, children and adults alike will be kept entertained in director Gary Gardner’s upbeat and high-energy performance of an old classic.

Curtain times are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. until Aug. 4. Ticket prices range from $14 to $35 and are available at the Civic Arts Plaza Box Office or any Ticketmaster location.

For tickets and information call (805) 583-8700.