LITTLE FALLS — The Little Falls High School Drama Club will present the musical “Peter Pan,” complete with flying cast members, March 13 and 14, in the Little Falls High School auditorium.
Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. for both performances.
“Peter Pan” hasn’t been performed in Little Falls for more than 30 years, and there’s a reason for that. Central to the plot is the fact Peter can fly. Not only that, but Peter teaches the three Darling children to fly as well. Most organizations that do “Peter Pan” hire an international organization called Flying by Foy to take care of that aspect of the show. The cost of renting the equipment from Flying by Foy is more than $3,000 per week, plus the cost of airfare, accommodations and meals for the flying director. Few organizations have the resources to hire for this, including the local high school drama club.
Instead, the local club is using the same person who flew Dale Lynne Mosher in the 1984 Profile Players production of “Peter Pan.” Warren Beers, former head of the Little Falls Department of Public Works, has been involved in various community theater groups over a span of many years, and has produced sets for such elaborate shows as “The Sound of Music” and “The King & I,” as well as last year’s production of “Damn Yankees.” Not only is Beers in charge of flying the actors, but has also designed and built a full-stage pirate ship, the Darling house and Neverland, with the help of parent volunteers.
Flying four actors at once involves a lot of manpower, and it takes the full 10 members of stage crew working simultaneously to get everyone off the ground. All other work halts when it is “time to fly.” Many hours have been spent getting it just right.
An actor dressed as a dog traditionally plays the role of the children’s Nana, who is supposed to be a St. Bernard. But thanks to Winter Polnak, who plays the maid Liza, the LFHS Drama Club has a live and well-trained dog to play the part. Brody is popular with the cast and crew, and is sure to be a hit with the audience as well. There is a long-standing tradition in the theater of girls acting in boys’ roles, and “Peter Pan” is no exception. A girl traditionally plays the role of Peter because the part requires a high singing voice, a slight build and a youthful appearance. Christina Deschene stars in this year’s production as Peter.
Other leads are Kali Regan as Wendy, Jon Willman as Hook, Eddie Rose as Smee, Andrew Fox as John, Gehrig Barnes as Michael and Courtney Liddon as Tiger Lily. The entire cast consists of high school, middle school and elementary students. Students also do set construction, artistic detail, lights and sound, rounding out the total involvement at more than 75 students.
Tickets are $6 and are available from cast and crew members, all school offices and at the door.
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