Peter and the Starcatcher opens April 9 at the University Hall Theatre
“It feels like the right time to play in this crazy world where anything is possible” – Dir. Alex Lonati
What we all need right now, says guest director Alex Lonati, is Peter and the Starcatcher. Opening April 9 for eight performances in the University Hall Theatre, it is in simplest terms the Tony Award winning backstory of Peter Pan, “the boy who would not grow up.” But it’s no mere prequal -- thrill-ride of theater wizardry, full of hope and magic.
“It’s about figuring out what it means to be a leader, a hero, and a family,” says Lonati, a Boston-based director joining UMass Boston for the production. “But it’s also a jolly and silly romp. There are pirates, mermaids, flying cats, stolen trunks, sword fighting. It feels like the right time to play in this crazy world where anything is possible, and adventure is there for the taking.”
Based on the book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson and adapted for stage by Rick Elice, Peter and the Starcatcher opened on Broadway in 2012. It was nominated for nine Tony Awards, winning five.
A total of 12 will play nearly 100 characters in all in a University Hall once again transformed to create an otherworldly, multi-level, pirate jungle-gym dreamscape with seating on three sides.
Peter and the Starcatcher opens April 9 for eight performances, and tickets are now on sale at umb.universitytickets.com.
The cast includes: Toki Llamas as Boy, Anna Pumphrey as Molly Aster, Aidan Butler as Black Stache, Nakatto Nassozi as Prentiss, Dylan Moore as Mack/Grempkin/Sánchez/Fighting Pawn, James Song as Ted, Sam Stanley as Smee, Derek Allen as Lord Leonard Aster, Scott Ramlal as Alf, Katherine Miraglia as Bill Slank, Donovan Ambroise as Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Vincenta Munoz as Hawking Clam/Ensemble, with additional Ensemble members Deleyah Creese, Michelle Dang, and Ethan Melo.
This is Lonati’s first time directing at UMass Boston, bringing a wealth of experience directing locally at the SpeakEasy Stage Company, where serves as Director of Artistic and Community Programs, Brown Box Theatre Project, Fresh Ink, and the Boston Theatre Marathon.
Peter and the Starcatcher
A Play By Rick Elice
Based on the Novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Music By Wayne Barker
Originally produced on Broadway by Nancy Nagel Gibbs, Greg Schaffert,
Eva Price, Tom Smedes, and Disney Theatrical Productions.
Directed by Alex Lonati
April 9, 10, 11,15, 16, 17, 18 at 7:30 p.m., with a 1 p.m. matinee on Saturday, April 12.
Students, faculty and Staff $12, General Public $17. On sale now at umb.universitytickets.com.