Midway Theater is producing the “Junior” version —so not too long (about an hour and 20 minutes with no intermission) and the cast of 38 was all 18 and under, featuring three distinct groups: an adorable gang of elementary-age “lost boys,” an older native warrior style gang of “brave girls” fulfilling the traditional-but-now-offensive “Indian” roles of Tiger Lily (Lauren Mustapha) and her tribe — with the oldest teens as the motley gang of pirates.
Jerome Cyrus Vierling was brave and boyish as our fearless leader Peter Pan, convincing us all not to grow up. Cam Damesworth, well remembered as the uber-positive Buddy the Elf in Midway’s last production, demonstrated his wide range by turning to the dark side with a sinister and supercilious turn as Captain Hook, attended by his devoted Smee (Cammon Arrington). Lanie Lawton was another standout as Wendy, with a lovely, motherly English accent and a stellar singing voice. Austin Harper and Blaise Brown were cute as brothers John and Michael.
Kudos to the staff — producer Christy Duffy, Director Christine Hall, A.D. Mandy Jaster, choreographer Amanda Tollstam, music director Sean Duffy, vocal coach Stacey Foote, and rehearsal pianist Noelle Wagenmaker, for molding this large group into a fun show. No, they do not “fly” with the up-on-strings wizardry we saw in Evolve's recent Mary Poppins — but you will enjoy the creative ways they simulate “flying" without strings.
This show well deserves the large stage and larger seating capacity at the Bill Helder auditorium (see plaque) inside the Alfreda Schmidt Southside Community Center on Wise Road. The hundreds of fans in the audience tonight would not have fit into the Grace Bible Church where Midway rehearses and has performed previously. So the good news is that this show is full but not sold out, with general seating, tickets at the door or at https://midwaytheatercompany.org It continues for only THREE MORE SHOWS: Friday at 7 and both 2pm and 7pm Saturday.