Peter Pan – Sutton Coldfield Musical Youth Theatre
Sutton Coldfield Town Hall
Tuesday 29th October
By Linda Gambles
To be honest, I had not heard of Peter Pan the musical and only have distant memories of the Disney film and reading the book as a child, so I attended this with a very open mind.
The first thing that hit me was the stage setting, a large screen at the back of the stage was intriguing and then there were the musicians surrounded by a runway from stage left to stage right.
So with my anticipation peaked I sat and awaited the start.
This is a fun filled-family show which flies along at a steady pace with lines interspersed by plenty of catchy songs
I’m pretty sure most people would be able to recollect the story, Peter Pan the boy who won’t grow up, has lost his shadow and whilst trying to retrieve it with the help of Tinkerbelle (I won’t spoil how Tinkerbelle flies about the stage!!) meeting Wendy, John and Michael after quickly persuading them to join him in Neverland and teaching them to fly they all leave by the bedroom window. I did wonder how they would create the illusion of flying and it partly explained the large screen at the back of the stage. On reaching Neverland we meet the Lost Boys performing an energetic and strong song and dance.
We are treated to many adventures with Peter and Wendy battling pirates rescuing Tiger Lilly and her Indian braves hiding from Tic Toc the crocodile and ultimately defeating the evil Captain Hook. Wendy and her brothers finally go home with their adventures leaving them changed for ever but Peter doesn’t go, promising to visit year to
The songs are a great mix of ballads and uptempo numbers performed solo or ensemble. For such a young and inexperienced cast this is an excellent feel good production with the cast enthusiasm and enjoyment in abundance.
The Production is directed by Kerrie Davies in her directorial debut with the group. The growth and confidence in the cast can be seen in their performances and is a credit to all who have assisted in creating this wonderful show.
Tony Orbell returns as the shows musical director ensuring the music combined perfectly with the dance routines.
The choreography by Jane Slassor who worked on Joseph, is lively slick and energetic interpreting the fun and youthfulness of the show. The costumes and sets were lovely, look out for Nanna the dog and of course Tic Toc the crocodile. The set changes were smooth allowing the show to move along at pace, well done to stage manager Georgia Young and her crew who were working hard behind the scenes.
I feel it would be very remiss of me not to mention the extremely talented youngsters if I had to single out any in particular, it would have be Peter Pan (Nate Wallace ), Wendy ( Sophie Pegg ) and Captain Hook ( Finley Waldron ) who all sang with strong and confident voices.
This is a fantastic production from a young and very enthusiastic cast and I urge you all to go and see them perform, you won’t be disappointed and I’ll guarantee you will leave uplifted thanks to the wonderful feel good factor this show delivers.
