Peter and the Starcatcher

Photo+credits+to+Sophie+Amalfitano%21

Photo credits to Sophie Amalfitano!

Sophie Amalfitano ‘20

Do you like Peter Pan? Yes? Then Peter and the Starcatcher is the perfect show for you! Peter and the Starcatcher is a rendition of Peter Pan. The show contains pirates, mermaids, and lost boys. Peter and the Starcatcher is not like any play done at Ridge. There are songs, and dancing, and some of the male cast members played a female role.

The Ridge Drama Club always puts on a great performance, but what really makes them sell out is the beautiful decorations in the lobby, the trips to the elementary schools, and their well-designed flyers all over the school.

Ridge Drama has a great reputation starting with The Addams Family which was sold out for both shows. Following with Fiddler on the Roof, which sold out one of their shows. Selling out these shows has given Ridge Drama the opportunity to have more than Friday, and Saturday show. The Addams Family selling out precipitated Fiddler on the Roof to have a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday show. Peter and the Starcatcher is being performed on Friday, November 17th, and Saturday, November 18th at 7 pm. The crowd expectancy for this show was 500, but they ended up selling over 700 tickets! This made Peter and the Starcatcher a record holder of highest ticket sales.

Peter and the Starcatcher is about a girl named Molly, and an orphan boy named Peter who work together against pirates and thieves to save the chest of treasure after Molly’s father’s ship is hijacked by Pirates. I asked some of the cast members how they would describe the show, and Annika Helgeson, ‘20 who plays Molly, says that Peter and the Starcatcher “Is everything you thought you knew about Peter Pan reinvented and re-imagined and with added depth and added magic, and sparkle, star stuff, and hope”. With the help of starstuff, Molly and Peter successfully reach their goal. Molly’s father is saved and the band of Pirates behind the feared Black Stache are defeated. The premise of the play circulates how Peter Pan and Tinkerbelle, the lost boys, and Captain Hook came to be.

Each character grows immensely throughout the show. Annika Helgeson plays Molly, Allen Wang plays Peter, Emma Marsters is Black Stache, Jonah Kartush as Ted, another orphan boy, and Katelyn King as Prentiss the leader of the orphan boys. One of the characters who grows throughout the show is Peter. The character Peter who is played by Allen Wang, ‘18 describes his growth by saying, “It is great being this character who goes through this big change. He starts as a hermit [then becomes] a great leader”. Instead of Prentiss being the leader of the boys, Peter begins to take charge after this long journey with Molly. Molly also goes through a big change during the play. She begins as a young girl who wants to journey with her father on his ship and live life as a full-fledged starcatcher. By the end of the play, she turns into a mature young woman and a starcatcher. Annika Helgeson says “She [Molly] goes on an adventure and learns to connect with somebody and learns to love in a very young way. This adventure catapults her to a new era of adulthood, where the person who brought her there [her father] can’t”.

The set of Peter and the Starcatcher was designed by Mr. Stewart. It was very intricate in the way it was built. The set had multiple levels of planks and stairs. The ruggedness of the wood and the use of the ropes really made it look and feel like you were on a ship. The backdrop during the whole show is exposed brick, which created a distressed look. What really made the set look spectacular is the lighting, created by Mr. Harvey. Cool blue tones along with vivid greens, powerful purples, and deep magentas were used. The liquid pools of blue light created a sea-like atmosphere. During Act 2 the breezy, leafy tones of the green lighting brought you deep into a wooded wonderland. The costumes authenticated each character. Peter, Ted, and Prentiss all had ragged and torn orphan clothing. Black Stache wears a royal red coat, emphasizing that he was the antagonist who yearned for power, and treasure. This wonderful production was directed by Mrs. Harvey who, like Molly, was the fearless leader of this fantastic journey.

The combination of the set, the costumes, the lighting, the acting, and the music, is what really makes this play magical. The story is a wonderful life lesson to the characters and even the audience. People of many ages enjoyed and learned from this production. Peter and the Starcatcher took everyone on a magical journey filled with adventure, self-discovery, imagination, and catching stars.