Peter Pan timeless as the boy who refuses to age

MANILA, Philippines - Every producer knows that the best return on investment as far as entertainment is concerned is any material addressing the children’s market. That is why there appears to be no ease from replays of Little Mermaid, Annie, A Christmas Carol, The Sound of Music, The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. That is also why Peter Pan has gone from film to television to theater musical with endless versions without the audience getting tired of it.

Although the legend of the boy who never wants to grow old has been around for over a century, Peter Pan in a new British version never yet seen in Manila promises to be a festive adventure with stunning scenery, show-stopping performances, swashbuckling sword fights, breath-taking flying scenes through a flying machine brought in from London. This new version of James Barrie’s Peter Pan has music by George Stiles, lyrics by Anthony Drewe and book by Willis Hall.

Running until Oct. 30 at the Meralco Theater, Peter Pan was written for a teenage boy, when most versions have a girl playing Peter. Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo and Jaime del Mundo  direct Sam Concepcion as Peter Pan, Michael Williams as Captain Hook, Pinky Marquez as Mrs. Darling, Jaime del Mundo as Mr. Darling, Kyla Rivera as Tiger Lily, Cara Barredo and Tippy dos Santos as Wendy and Joy Virata as Wendy who ages.

What can we expect from this new version and new cast? This is the first time for a boy version of Peter Pan to be shown in the Philippines. In the past, Rachel Alejandro had appeared as  Peter Pan. Wendy is the only character played by alternates —  Cara who started performing in theater since she was six, and Tippy into her first outing with Repertory.

Michael who plays Captain Hook has been in theater since the ‘80s. There was a time when Rep had a season of 10 plays a year and he was in every one of them. And of course, he was part of the original London cast of Miss Saigon.

Sam is one actor who has successfully been able to straddle both show business and theater. His theatrical appearances include High School Musical, Mulan, The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. When asked for advice to aspiring performers, he answers with a line from Peter Pan “Just believe that you can, and you will.”

As we watched the show, although the leads are Peter Pan and Wendy, there is no way anyone can beat the villainous role of Captain James Hook whose right arm ends in a hook after Peter Pan cut it off and threw it as food for a crocodile. Hook is intent on killing Peter to a point of obsession that brings about a mood alternating between retaliation and melancholy. Apart from being the best role in the musical, there is also the incomparable performance of a Michael Williams as Hook. His song When I Kill Peter Pan, which won Best Song and Best Orchestra at the International Musical of the Year Awards, garnered much applause from the Meralco audience.

Will the small Filipino audience get tired of watching Peter Pan? Apparently not, judging from the conversation of a couple beside us who started comparing this version to the musical version at the CCP in January of 2007, and even the Ballet Philippines dance version in December last year also at the CCP. They also wondered if it would have been possible for children to try the flying machine as an adjunct of the play.

Michael Williams as Captain Hook and The Lost Boys also inhabit the Never Land

The musical is based on a 1904 play  Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up by J. M. Barrie which Walt Disney produced as an animated film in 1953. After this, there have been various editions on television, film and musical theater. The changes in plot include having Wendy aware of the existence of Peter Pan before meeting him; shortening the period of the children in Never Land so that their absence from the nursery on earth goes unnoticed; making the Lost Boys go back with Peter to Never Land in the end instead of being adopted by the Darlings.

The original 1954 Broadway production which starred Mary Martin as Peter Pan, and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook, won Tony Awards for both stars. The same stars appeared in NBC telecasts in 1955, 1956 and 1960. There were also several revivals onstage.

In 1976, the Hallmark Hall of Fame produced a musical adaptation of Peter Pan on television with big names like Mia Farrow as Peter, Danny Kaye as Captain Hook/Mr. Darling, John Gielgud narrating, and Julie Andrews performing the Opening Credits theme. Director was Dwight Hemion, and a new score by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse.

While all these adaptations have their own musical numbers and minor changes in plot, the basic concept of Peter Pan remains that of a magical world inhabited by Tinkerbell, Mermaids, Lost Boys, Pirates, Tiger Lily, a Crocodile and Captain Hook. We compared the lyrics of the Never Land song in the Broadway 1954 and that of Anthony Drewe and George Stiles in the Repertory version.

From Broadway we have: “It might be miles beyond the moon, or right there where you stand; Just keep an open mind, and then suddenly you’ll find Never Never Land.“ From Anthony Drewe Repertory Phil: “Neverland that’s the secret of flying. Neverland nothing equals that. Take her hand, there’s no harm in trying; Just believe that you can and you will.”  Obviously, they speak of the same thing; believing in magic, in fairies and being young forever.

When Tinkerbell warns Peter Pan that Captain Hook has switched poison for his medicine and he doesn’t believe her, she drinks the poison to prove it. As Tinkerbell is on the verge of dying, Peter Pan asks the audience to clap and shout out loud that they believe in fairies in order to save her. And all of us in the audience stand up and do as told. And of course, Tinkerbell is saved. What can be more magical than that, as it proves that fairy tales do come true, and will always be with us.

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