I had the honor of being invited by the Orange County Performing Arts Center to see the new threesixty° stage production of PETER PAN, J M Barrie’s classic story in a state-of-the-art theater pavilion last Sunday and to sum it up in one word, the show was extraordinary!
This production is an exclusive limited engagement running now through November 21st, 2010 and is the only Southern California stop on the U.S. Tour.
The venue, a 1,300 seat theater-tent set up in-the-round, was incredible! The tent is located next to the Center’s Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. I had a hard time visualizing where this would be set-up, so let me help you visualize with a photo…
Here it is! Amazing at night…
Adjacent to the tent in a fenced-in area there were lots of tables and chairs and a beautiful pavilion which housed the concession area. The concession opens one hour prior to the showtime, which I wish I knew about ahead of time as it would have been a great place to take your family for an outdoor picnic and relax before the show {no outside food permitted.} There was even a “candy bar” where kids could pick and choose their own candy bags!
When we entered the theater, I was amazed at how intimate it was…not a bad seat in the house! On the top of the tent interior, completely surrounding the circular stage, were projections three times the size of Imax screens. It was really like NOTHING I had ever seen before!
The performance was DYNAMIC. I almost felt my jaw dropping the first time the characters flew up out of the Darling children’s bedroom off to Neverland. When they FLY you FEEL as if you are flying with them past the streets of virtual London into the clouds and into Neverland.
Because of how engulfed you are in the action, the audience even broke out in spontaneous applause several times due to the sheer fact that the stunts and technology was so visually stunning and captivating. It really was like you were sucked INTO the performance, right there beside the actors.
The cast was phenomenal, featuring members of the original London production joined by American actors for a very talented eclectic mix! Every, single cast member was perfectly casted, but to me, Captain Hook (doubly cast as Mr. Darling) stole the show! His voice was perfection!
Peter Pan was completely engaging and had the perfect boyish charm and Tinker Bell, well, she was not the Tinker Bell you probably know! To me, the performance’s Tinker Bell was one of the funniest parts of the play – a “Tink” with an attitude, dirty tutu and boots!
The website said “generally not recommended for kids under age 5” and I would have to agree. My 4 year old would have loved the flying and stunts, but most would have likely been over her head, and Hook is a bit of a menacing character. But I think it depends on your child. Looking around, I did see several kids that appeared to be under 5 and they seemed to be loving the show.
Overall, it was an incredible experience, and a show I will never forget!
Tickets range from $30 – $75 {and worth every single penny}
Orange County Performing Arts Center
615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
www.ocpac.org
714.556.2787
www.peterpantheshow.com
{Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to the show to facilitate this review.}
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