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music and lyrics by Judy and David Gershon, book by Ross Petty, directed by Glen Kotyk

Ross Petty Productions, Elgin Theatre, Toronto

December 7, 2000-January 6, 2001

“Sheila McCarthy Soars as Peter Pan”

"Peter Pan: The Family Musical That Won't Grow Up!", now playing at the Elgin Theatre, is not to be confused with the 1954 Charlap, Styne, Leigh, Comden and Green musical that made Mary Martin famous.  Rather, this is one of Ross Petty's annual English-style pantomimes that he has been producing in Toronto for 14 years  and the first panto-style production of "Peter Pan" ever in Canada.  It is also the most sophisticated panto Petty has so far brought us.  Instead of some of the ramshackle scripts we've had in the past, this script, adapted by Petty himself, has a very clear throughline, and the comic interludes that often bring the narrative to a halt are more integrated into the story.  Also, unlike earlier pantos which have used pre-existing music from various sources, this one has new songs and lyrics Petty has commissioned from the children's songwriting duo, Judy and David Gershon.  This gives the show a more unified feel, but also tends to make it seem more like a musical with the sections for audience participation added later.

The Gershons' songs, written in styles from lullaby to blues, are not particularly memorable except perhaps for the title song.  The song with the most energy to it is the rap song "Hook, Hook" that opens the second act and is one of the few successful uses of rap I've heard in a musical.  The rest are all pleasant enough in a generic way, but nothing really soars like "I'm Flying" from the 1954 show.  One song, "The Mermaid Blues", while a showpiece for the singer, is much more likely to appeal to adults than to children.

That show works so well is largely due to the exceptional cast Petty has assembled.  Sheila McCarthy, after too long an absence from the stage, is the perfect Peter Pan.  Besides the slim build and spiky red hair, she has just the right quirkiness, energy and good humour for this boy who won't grow up.  Her infectious sense of fun lights up every scene she's in and she's great at rallying her troops of young audience members to her side.  She also flies and lands beautifully.  Will someone please revive the 1954 musical for her!

After his absence from last year's "Cinderella", Petty again takes up his traditional role as the villain.  His first entrance on a moose got a resounding round of boos, as much for him as in comment on Toronto's sculptural folly of the summer.  But Petty keeps the boos coming with his swaggering, hair-flinging portrayal, comic asides and haunted-house laugh all the while sending himself up.  As one might expect, he was the favourite character of the 9-year-old critic who attended the show with me.

This is the third panto appearance of Ernie Coombs (aka TV's Mr. Dressup) and the one where he seemed the most comfortable on stage, especially given all he has to do as the Storyteller and Finnegan, the butler who comically goes undercover among the pirates.  Among the other actors, Robert McCarrol is a stand-out as Smee.  He has amazing energy and is very funny.  My young critic's favourite scene in the show is when Hook lets Smee act as captain and Smee immediately adopts a boot camp commander's voice and orders Hook around.  Jayne Lewis is excellent in her two roles as Mrs. Darling and Clarice, the mermaid.  She uses a lovely operetta voice when she sings as the former, but can really growl when she sings the mermaid's fish-pun-laden  blues.  It is difficult to know what Sharmaine Ryan is doing with the role of Tinkerbell, because her words are so hard to understand, even when she is not speaking "fairy language". 

The acting and singing of the principal children are excellent.  It's just too bad that Martha MacIsaac (Wendy), Adrian Morningstar (Michael) and Mitchell Freed (John) are given so little to do since they are clearly so talented.  In contrast, 9-year-old Stephen Joffe as Tootles, a boy newly captured by the pirates, has quite a lot to do and can certainly hold his own with any of the adult pirates.

As usual, the sets and costumes are of unknown provenance, but in this case are especially handsome.  The pantos in Toronto are usually the only time we get the chance to see old-fashioned scenery composed of legs and drops, so perfect for a storybook atmosphere.  Everyone will enjoy the scene when Peter and the darling children fly out of their window and over the roofs of London through the starry night sky.  Steve Ross's lighting, involving much use of follow spots, is not especially subtle and is probably not meant to be.  The fights staged by Joe Bostick  are curiously not very exciting. 

Glen Kotyk has ably directed and choreographed the 2 1/2-hour show but could improve the pacing.  The first half tends to drag a bit during the pretty but largely unnecessary street scene in Kensington that introduces the characters and tries to set up real-life parallels for the "fictional" characters later on.  The right pace isn't really reached until we're among the pirates.  After that, everything moves along well and the second act begins with a burst of energy in the rap ode to Captain Hook accompanied by some smooth moves from the pirates. For the adults, Kotyk has cleverly turned some scenes into parodies of other musicals, in particular "A Chorus Line" and "Les Misérables". 

Most importantly, Ryan, my accompanying 9-year-old critic, was entranced by the whole spectacle and couldn't wait for the second act to begin.  He might not have got all the topical jokes aimed at the adults, but he did get the many jokes aimed at children which I didn't.  He clearly had fun booing, talking back at the stage and singing along.  Already knowing the story, he said the show was better and a lot funnier than he had expected.  And would he see it again?  He certainly would!  Need I say more?

©Christopher Hoile

Photo: Sheila McCarthy as Peter Pan and Ross Petty as Captain Hook.