Peter and the Starcatchers

I have friends in it. It is very much a workshop. Although they have a run, there is no official opening and reviewers are welcome, but not allowed to post reviews. The cast rehearses daily, up until the end of their run.

Disney is behind it, with hopes of it having a future somewhere down the line. It sounds interesting, though very bare bones. My friends say Christian Borle is hilarious and brilliant. Can't wait to see it, though don't know that I'd book a flight to come out to see it. Thankfully, I'm local.

Dear Toddlisatyriem,

Even though "Peter and the Starcatchers" is only a "barebones production" at the La Jolla Playhouse, it might be worth the trip to San Diego at this time of year! It's beautiful right now! Sunny and dry, 69 degrees today(Sunday), but will be continuing to warm up to 76 degrees Monday and Tuesday. We hardly ever have rain and we NEVER have snow, so it is absolutely a good time to come to San Diego for a weekend, see the show, go to the beach, go to the Zoo, Seaworld, Scripps Aquarium,Balboa Park Museums, go Whalewatching, go kayaking on Mission Bay, etc.

Next weekend is a 4-day weekend and I am sure you can still get tickets to the show, buy a City Pass at Costco and do the town!

San Diego is great town for families with kids! I'm a Mom who grew up here and raised my daughter here, who is now she a young actress, on her way to an MFA in Acting (possibly, at NYU or UMKC!) My daughter flourished here and grew up going to plays, concerts, museums, art galleries, libraries, book stores, dance programs, language classes, acting classes, dance classes, Balboa Park, kayaking on the bay, whalewatching, the beach,etc.

Southwest Airlines is running Gotta Gettaway Specials and Valentines Weekend Specials right now. There is NO BETTER TIME to come to San Diego!

You should absolutly come to San Diego and get away from Winter in Kansas! You deserve a break from all that snow and ice! Come to San Diego and thaw out!

Updated On: 2/1/09 at 02:55 PM

I'm so glad that you and your son are comming to San Diego for a Birthday Aventure!

In keeping with theme of pirate ships, San Diego has a great waterfront with a wonderful old ship called the Star of India that is now a museum!

The La Jolla Playhouse is a cool place to see a show - all of the seats are good! And you might even get to meet the cast after the performance! Seeing a play here is very different than seeing one in New York or Chicago... The Playhouse is on the UCSD campus and the theaters are surounded by trees! And many people here dress very casual... your son would be comfortable in jeans, sneakers and a tee shirt! You could also wear jeans, if you like! You might want to bring a sweatshirt or sweater for the evenings! Have fun!

I found these comments over at ATC:

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=1689241

Updated On: 2/22/09 at 09:25 AM

I saw it on Friday night. It's definitely a workshop in that they are still trying to get a footing on the material.

The show still needs quite a bit of shaping. There is way too much going on - much movement, dialogue, music, all at the same time. The first act especially needs some focus. At times, it is hard to follow what is happening - nothing that can't be fixed with some additional re-writes and rehearsals.

I was not familiar with the book that the show is based upon, so I can’t compare, but it did seem like they tried to cover too much material in the time that they had. Things moved too quickly (and not in a good way).

Christian Borle and Celia Keenan-Bolger are giving a couple of terrific performances. Christian Borle is campy and completely over the top in his role as “Black Stache”. The show itself could benefit from more of his type of energy and comedy chops. Celia Keenan-Bolger brings an intensity and drive that is quite endearing to her role as “Molly”. There are many fun characters in the show which require strong characterizations. Unfortunately, in this production, the characterizations aren’t quite there. Consequently, some of the humor in the piece is muted and falls a bit flat. I wasn’t particularly fond of the actor that played “Peter”. He was overly petulant and did not have the required charm and charisma that the part requires.

One of the strong points of the show is the current style of staging – a lot of simple props that become set pieces and actors that create sets, as well. I don’t know if the plan is to keep this type of scaled-down environment staging or go for the full-on effects extravaganza (ala Wicked). It would be a shame to loose the charm of this type of presentation as it works quite well for the material.

Updated On: 2/23/09 at 04:55 PM

I read a vague comment from someone that Tinkerbell was a very 'clever' effect. Can you elaborate?