Monday, October 31, 2011
Review: Narrative, spectacle balanced in 'Peter Pan'
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Overactive interpretation is the bane of many contemporary theatrical settings of familiar stories, which can be lost in the process. Choreographer Jorden Morris took a more direct approach in his version of "Peter Pan," which Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre presented this weekend to open its season at the Benedum Center, Downtown. Narrative and spectacle are well-balanced in the production Morris, a former dancer at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in Canada, created in 2006. He delights in using classical ballet dancing for action and expression of feeling, supplementing it with a lot of mime. The story is faithfully told, its progress always crystal-clear.
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I didn't know that Foy had done the flying for this production of Peter Pan. The interesting thing about Foy and other big flying companies such as ZFX is that they have rigs and choreography that they use often in the same type of shows. When I worked with them on Peter Pan the musical they brought their Peter Pan rig and knew each point in the show when Peter was supposed to fly by heart. When we did Wizard of Oz, same thing. They showed up with their Wizard of Oz rig and walked us through each moment in the show people were supposed to fly. It was very impressive and felt very safe because you could tell it was something they did often. I wonder what their interaction with Foy was on this show, how much time they had to work with the flying equipment, how it went, and what the Foy people thought of the final show. I also wonder what the Foy crew brought with them for their rig and how every bit of that was planned.
I really appreciate that the choreographer spent so much time introducing the Darling family because they are so critical to the story as mentioned. A lot comes out about the family when there is a longing from the Darlings to go home which would be much more difficult to convey when not in the family setting without words.
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