THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411230085
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E9 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, THEATER CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
IT EITHER FLIES or it doesn't - it's that simple.
``Peter Pan,'' Virginia Stage Company's most ambitious musical outing in years, flies - perhaps a few leaps short of being what you'd actually call ``magical,'' but still, flying is flying.
And even if Ms./Mr. Pan kept his/her footsies firmly on the ground, there still would be that wonderful musical score with gems like ``I'm Flying,'' ``I Won't Grow Up,'' and the feisty ``I Gotta Crow.'' At last, a musical with tunes you can hum! Just try not humming them. You'll find yourself singing ``I'm Flying'' in the shower the next day.
If your heart doesn't race a little when Peter flies off to NeverLand for the first time, you've, ugh, grown up.
Terri Girvin is a stocky and perky Pan - convincing us that this, indeed, is the role she always wanted to play. I caught her recently in the hilarious off-Broadway spoof ``Hysterical Blindness.'' As Pans go, she's more an Ethel Merman Pan than a Mary Martin Pan - with a sock-it-to'em spirit that will reach the back row. Missing, regrettably, is some of the sweet lyricism that a Mary, or her imitators, could bring to it. But in its place is a boyish verve that can be infectious.
Flying, however, is not her strong suit - a factor that is a little surprising this late in the run. There are moments when ``I'm Hanging'' would be a more appropriate lyric, and a helping hand from pirates is sometimes needed to help her land without crashing into the scenery.
Bonnie Walker's direction is nicely paced (except for too-long intermissions which may be the house manager's fault). The bent, though, is a little too precious in its apparent misconception that this is a ``children's'' musical. It, of course, is not. ``Peter Pan'' will be, and should be, liked by children, but it is most certainly a wry and sometimes caustic comment on adulthood. The edge is not there in this production, especially, for example, with a whining, sweetish Wendy and a less-than-vitriolic Captain Hook.
Ryan Hilliard, who has the great good fortune of being cast as the evil Hook, scores nicely in the second act with ``Hook's Waltz'' but we would have liked more of the broad winks that let us know he's really a cream puff masquerading as a meanie.
Charles M. Caldwell's sets could have been splashed with a bit more cartoonish color in Neverland (which is a pretty beige, neutral, place as seen here). He has, though, created an expansive nursery which helps us get through that always-too-long opening act (while we wait for the flying to start). The orchestra, led by Kevin Wallace, has a firm grip on the fine score.
The famous moment when the audience is asked to clap its hands in order to bring Tinkerbell back to life is played almost perfunctorily - taking no chances and, consequently, generating little spontaneity.
There are, however, some imaginative touches, such as Tiger Lily having to be tied to a tree that is hauled in at the last moment - or Pan emphasizing the fact that the Redskins have gone down to defeat. (A line that takes on new meaning on modern Sunday afternoons).
Pleasingly, the cast includes such local regulars as Michael Barriskill and Mary Christine Danner, among others.
This may not be a ``Peter Pan'' for the ages, but it is one for the moment. Girvin and company are fully capable of taking us on a likable and diverting theatrical journey. Frequent flyer miles are in the offing. by CNB