Join the Chantilly Drama Department this fall as they present Rick Elice’s play, Peter and the Starcatcher, an adaptation of an imaginative twist on a well-known story. No matter what the form, everyone has heard of the beloved and timeless tale of youthful Peter Pan. However, few will recognize the unique prequel this play gives to one of the most beloved childhood stories. It answers an age-old question: How did Peter Pan become the boy who never grew up? Based on the New York Times best selling Disney-Hyperion novel by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson, this play tells the tale of an orphan who travels to a faraway land accompanied by a myriad of strange characters like pirates, adventurers, and even girls.
After a young Peter and his friends are shipped off from Victorian England to a distant island ruled by the evil King Zarboff, they realize that the mysterious trunk in the captain’s cabin contains something much more precious and otherwordly than they first realized. At sea, the boys are discovered by a precocious young girl named Molly, a Starcatcher-in-training who explains that the cargo is starstuff, a celestial substance so powerful that it must never fall into the wrong hands. When the ship is taken over by pirates- led by the fearsome Black Stache, a villain determined to claim the trunk and its treasure for his own- the journey quickly becomes a thrilling adventure. According to Michael Rosegrant, who plays Teacher, “This show is a drastic departure from what Chantilly drama is used to working on. For our mainstage plays we usually perform pieces from the 1930s and 40s because they have the largest cast, but thankfully we are able to do this contemporary piece because of its ensemble cast that our large department can fill. Technically wise, it is a challenge in that instead of a stationary set our set has to move and adapt to change to each situation within the show. The most interesting part to me, is that all of the characters depicted are fictional which means our imagination is the only boundary we face in our acting choices.” Along with the cast, student technicians run everything behind the scenes from costumes to set, in order to ensure the success of the production. Christina Dang, who heads costume, says that “the costumes are essential to the show because of the ways we can use colors and styles to differentiate various groups of characters.” In addition to costumes, everything from props to makeup is completely student-made and led. This show is wildly theatrical, and creative technical teams are needed to make the production a hit. With the large emphasis in the show on friendship and childhood, Chantilly Drama has decided to give back with their production. During the Friday night performance, all audience members are invited to bring in a toy for a Toys 4 Tots drive. Anyone who donates will be able to receive a complimentary concession item! The audience’s imagination is just as needed as the cast- unless the mind is stretched to believe in anything, it will be impossible to follow the outrageous twists and turns of this celestial story. Be sent back to your childhood in Chantilly’s production of Peter and the Starcatcher, and watch how an unlikely miserable orphan becomes one of the most legendary characters of all time in this epic origin story. |