As adults, we mature. We are more serious thinkers. We leave behind the spontaneity we had as a child. But, haven’t there been times when adulting is just too much to handle and all you want is to recapture the magic of youth?
A yes to that question would steer you in the direction of Firehouse Theatre’s newest production, Peter and the Starcatcher, opening August 16 and running through September 1 with two pay-what-you-will preview performances August 14 and 15.
“There is so much to love about the play,” says Nathaniel Shaw, Firehouse’s producing artistic director and director of the production. “It feels like a play that is really about the love of making theater. There’s so much about the creativity of the entire team and the inventiveness of the cast that brings Neverland to life.”
Anyone not familiar with the play – Shaw first directed the production in 2015 when he brought the show to Virginia Rep – should know the play is a prequel to the iconic Peter Pan. It explains how Peter becomes Peter Pan and how Captain Black Stache becomes Captain Cook.
The show “captures the poignancy of what makes Peter Pan so timeless, going from childhood to adulthood and letting go of a child’s imagination,” Shaw says.
Peter Pan Prequel Opens August 16 at Firehouse Theatre
Instead of focusing on Wendy, this original production highlights Wendy’s mom, Molly Aster. She is the first of the line of Darling women who fly away and have experiences with Peter Pan only to leave Neverland behind and grow up.
The production team created the concept of an attic of memory for the show. “All the aspects of the play are drawn from this attic and represent the experience of Molly and other Darlings who share their experience with Peter,” Shaw says.
The play beautifully captures the “poignancy and bittersweet reality of aging,” Shaw adds.
The company that Shaw has put together is a “wonderful blend of Richmond’s finest actors, some of whom were part of our original production and many who are new,” he says.
Returning actors include Robert Throckmorton as Mrs. Bumbrake, Paul Major as Smee and Scott Wichmann as Captain Black Stache.
“Scott is truly a world class comedic character actor. We are lucky to have someone in Richmond who has his talent for comedy,” Shaw says. “Robert and Paul were both so brilliant in the 2015 production. It would be shame not to have them return.”
Don’t Miss Peter and the Starcatcher at Firehouse Theatre
In order to rehearse and perform his role, Wichmann will have to do a little traveling between Norfolk where he serves as chief mass communication specialist in the Navy Reserve and Richmond.
He’s glad to be working with Shaw once again. “We first met in 2015 at first read of the play and it went really well,” he says. “He was great to work with. He brings a real integrity to the rehearsal process.”
The show is a perfect match for Wichmann’s comedic talent. It’s frivolous, whimsical and hilarious. “It’s fun,” he says.
This will be the first time he has appeared on the Firehouse stage since 2008 when he performed in The Late Henry Moss. “It’s like a homecoming to me,” Wichmann says. “I’m impressed with the life that Nathaniel has infused in the theater. It’s pretty exciting what’s happening here.”
Performing again at Firehouse was also a way for Wichmann to pay homage to the late Carol Piersol, a linchpin of Richmond theater who helped found Firehouse.
“In the playbill I have a conscious dedication to Carol,” Wichmann says. “Carol helped create a place where stories can be handed down. This play really represents the enduring power of storytelling through generations. That’s the cool thing — I get to see the Piersol kids, who are all grown up now, sitting in the audience. That’s the Frank Capra story of this. That is what sustains you.”
The show is a wonderful story of family. “The family we never had, the family we wished we had, the family we do have and the family we make,” says Shaw. “It’s a wonderful thing to share multi-generationally. It’s great for children 8 and up and bring the grandparents along.”
The play is a touching story of the process we all share, moving on from childhood to become an adult where we move further and further away from the magic of a child’s imagination.
“It encourages us to hold onto imagination and the playfulness with which you live your life,” Shaw says. “It invites folks to be with us and use our imagination for a couple of hours.”
