Ever since the financially lucrative but artistically bereft origin story “The Phantom Menace” hit movie screens in 1999, popular intellectual property hasn’t been safe from the perilous threat of a prequel. So it was not surprising when Peter Pan was given a backstory in a 2004 novel that was ultimately adapted for the stage as “Peter and the Starcatcher.”
Fortunately, the staged version of the eternal boy’s discovery of Neverland proves that prequels don’t have to suck. Thanks to a surfeit of innovative staging and a soupçon of whimsy, the production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” now running at Firehouse Theatre is a delight throughout.
As directed by Nathaniel Shaw, “Starcatcher” manages to evoke the magical imagery of fairy tales without a lot of technical whiz-bangs. A cast of 12 fills a relatively small stage that is already overstuffed with evocative, seafaring bric-a-brac, generating an energy of chaotic good-humor while never obscuring the fanciful tale at the show’s core.
If you ever wondered how Peter became stuck in (or blessed by) a state of perpetual youth, the answer lies in a British mission to transport special cargo of the Queen’s across the ocean. The treasure is “starstuff,” magical astral detritus that occasionally falls to Earth, and only a small handful of Starcatchers have been empowered to protect it.
One such Starcatcher is Lord Astor (Alexander Sapp), who travels with a trunk supposedly filled with the stuff, bound for the tropical kingdom of Rundoon. His 13-year old daughter, Molly (Shannon Schilstra), has been assigned to another boat, The Neverland, that carries a decoy trunk. While in transit, she meets three orphan boys so deprived that one of them (Lukas D’Errico) doesn’t even have a name.
As one might expect, transporting treasure on the high seas attracts pirates, including the most evil villain of all, Black Stache (Scott Wichmann). His dastardly pursuit will ultimately involve storms, shipwrecks, an island full of wacky Brit-hating natives, and a bittersweet romance. Along the way, the fundamentals of the Peter Pan story slot cleverly into place.
Anchored by Wichmann’s bravura performance, the cast here is uniformly excellent. The veteran comic actor spouts hilarious malapropisms with aplomb while also updating the villain’s fiendish invective with modern references. Wichmann’s scenery-chewing is buoyed and balanced by a masterfully subservient Smee, played by Paul Major, who also provides musical accompaniment in one scene on ukulele.
Speaking of music, “Starcatcher” is a great musical for those who don’t like them. Even though it sparkles with an ever present tunefulness of language, only a few full-blown musical numbers are sprinkled throughout the show, including a rousing “Chorus Line”-style kick line. The absence of characters randomly launching into song makes the occasional musical scenes that much sweeter.
The duo that kicks off the story, Sapp and Schilstra, are truly dynamic, particularly in quirky moments like when they converse in the chirping language of the dodo bird.
D’Errico plays the boy who becomes Peter with effective moony-eyed enthusiasm, but it is Schilstra’s endearing spunkiness that drives much of the action. Together, they revive the winning chemistry they showed as young lovers in “Head Over Heels” at Triangle Players last summer.
The Firehouse shows its commitment to top-notch technical elements with the multifaceted scenic design by Chase Kniffen. Integrating water tanks and projections, the set provides a rich palette of angles and contours for the drama to unfold on, particularly as confidently illuminated by a lighting design (by BJ Wilkinson) that enhances the moods of each scene.
Overall, the spirit of “Starcatcher” is more winking, wry humor versus the enchanting innocence “Peter Pan” often strives for. But that affords the show a certain “cake and eat it too” balance: sarcastic enough for adults but charming enough for kids.
In the end, there are too many superlatives in “Starcatcher” to effectively enumerate. The best way to appreciate them is to experience them firsthand by catching “Starcatcher” before it disappears, like Neverland, in a puff of magic fairy dust.
“Peter and the Starcatcher” is playing at Firehouse Theatre, 1609 West Broad St., through Sept. 1. Tickets and info available at https://www.firehousetheatre.org/.
