We all dream of flying magnificently through space. In “Peter Pan,” the British import running in a tent at Pemberton Place downtown, we can.
Presented in the round, this dazzling high-tech odyssey projects 360 degrees of video imagery so that audience members feel as if they are gliding over the major landmarks of London. Wait, there’s St. Paul’s Cathedral! Watch your head there, mate! Don’t want to get decapitated by London Bridge!
If this is how it feels to be whisked off to Neverland, to run away with the boy who will never grow up, count me in. Adapted by Tanya Ronder and directed by Ben Harrison, the East Coast premiere of designer William Dudley’s 3D version of the J.M. Barrie classic marries theater, circus and digital camera work into a marvelously inventive thrill ride.
Alas, when it’s earthbound — in the Darling family’s upstairs sleeping quarters or on the Island of Lost Boys — it doesn’t quite have the sparkle and sheen as it does when the projector is rolling. Still, the low-tech side has some pretty nifty tricks, including cleverly designed, skillfully manipulated puppets; actors flying through space with graceful precision; and kicky fight choreography. Dudley also designed the sets and costumes, which are practical and unobtrusive.
Ciaran Joyce plays Peter with great pluck and a whisper of emerging sensuality. Peter seduces Wendy (Samantha Hopkins) and here is portrayed as being pathologically predisposed to repeating his masterful game — a serial kidnapper. Joyce is excellent, summoning a performance that's as psychologically thrilling as it is physically energetic.
In the double roles of Mr. Darling and Captain Hook, Darryl Brockis gets equal billing with Hopkins and Joyce, and he does a very convincing job of transforming himself from Victorian stiff shirt to foppish pirate. But does he ever transcend caricature? Probably not. On the other hand (hook?), Shannon Warrick makes a genuinely affecting turn as the glamorously attired Mrs. Darling. While Peter refuses to grow up, John Darling (nicely played by Elijah Trichon) is already imitating the starched mannerisms of Victorian adults, down to the top hat and formal handshake.
Upsetting this prissy world is Tinker Bell, played by Emily Yetter as a scornful, mocking child. Yetter's Tink is an over-the-top, purposefully annoying, Cirque du Soleil-style clown. In a more graceful vein, Christopher Keller makes for a superb puppeteer. He evinces great expressiveness from shaggy dog Nana and commandeers the enormous skeletal crocodile that glides over the stage with predatory stealth.
Thing is, after all the nifty technology and magical aerial choreography, some of the action reads like a snooze. The acting is solid — in a few cases stellar — but sometimes the much-hyped spectacle feels just like any other “Peter Pan” play. Still, you have to admire the way the creators refrain from putting a Disney touch on every detail. There's a wisdom in trusting the story — and letting the novelty of technology do the rest.
It's kind of cool to have your very own "Spider-Man" moment.
Theater review
“Peter Pan”
Grade: B
7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. 2 p.m. Saturdays. 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sundays. Through March 20. $35-$75. The threesixty Theatre at Pemberton Place, adjacent to the World of Coca-Cola, 126 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., Downtown. 1-888-772-6849; peterpantheshow.com/Atlanta
Bottom line: Barrie classic gets 3-D treatment, in a tent.
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