THEATER REVIEW
“Peter and the Starcatcher”
Grade: D
Through March 13. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays. $24-$34. Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. 770-641-1260, www.get.org.
Bottom line: A haphazard dud.
Between the poorly received live TV version of the musical "Peter Pan" and Atlanta Lyric's singularly disappointing staging of the show last fall, between the monumental flop that was the recent movie "Pan" and now Georgia Ensemble Theatre's disastrous "Peter and the Starcatcher" — all in the span of just 15 months — we might want to put any further variations of the classic J.M. Barrie tale to rest for a good, long while.
Based on a book by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, adapted by Rick Elice (with sporadic music by Wayne Barker), “Starcatcher” is a prequel of sorts to its famous source material. The play concocts a convoluted “origin story” about the titular orphaned “lost boy” who never grows up, after he’s shipwrecked on a fantasy island dubbed Neverland.
Haphazardly directed by Heidi Cline McKerley, late of Horizon's much better "The Toxic Avenger," this Georgia Ensemble production quickly reveals itself to be an incoherent mess to follow. It features a cast of 14 actors, who initially crowd the stage and take turns delivering a lot of narrative exposition that's ultimately pointless, insofar as Elice's script primarily thrives on flatulence jokes and anachronistic references to everyone from Michael Jackson and Philip Glass to Ayn Rand and Mae West.
The only remotely funny one-liner belongs to Shakespeare Tavern guru Jeffrey Watkins (in a rare appearance outside of his own company), as one of several gross pirate buffoons in the story: “I may not have been born with a silver spoon up my bum, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to stir my tea with one!”
There are a number of other familiar faces in the ensemble — some less objectionable than others, but none of whom may be able to ever live down their participation in the embarrassing nadir of “Starcatcher,” a cringe-inducing musical routine (in mermaid drag) that opens the second act.
Among the major characters, Jeff McKerley, the director’s husband, hams it up, as usual, playing the principal villain (here renamed Black Stache, as opposed to Captain Hook). Unless you count Steve Hudson’s cross-dressing governess — “get the hook,” indeed, to quote a quip from the show — the sole woman in the cast is Molly Coyne, whose role (and performance) as a pert love interest is aptly described as “insufferably bright.”
Under the sorry circumstances, it isn’t saying as much as it could to note that, for his part, Jeremiah Parker Hobbs’ spirited Peter is about the only decent thing on view.
It’s almost inconceivable to imagine that the original Broadway version of this won five Tony Awards back in 2012, four of them in design categories. Here, despite the previously proven talents of Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay (scenery and costumes), Andre C. Allen (lighting) and Jason Polhemus (sound), Georgia Ensemble’s rendition doesn’t even have very stylish production values going for it.
Contrary to the moral of the piece that “things are only worth what you’re willing to give up for them,” certain other things are mainly just a waste of time and effort.
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