Yahoo! News: Producers Nancy Nagel Gibbs and Greg Schaffert said Wednesday that "Peter and the Starcatcher," the first play commissioned by Disney, will be staged in the spring. It was last seen off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop, where it earned five Drama Desk nominations.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Prequel to 'Peter Pan' heading to Broadway
Yahoo! News: Producers Nancy Nagel Gibbs and Greg Schaffert said Wednesday that "Peter and the Starcatcher," the first play commissioned by Disney, will be staged in the spring. It was last seen off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop, where it earned five Drama Desk nominations.
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8 comments:
First of all, I think this sounds really fun. I've always wondered what made Peter Pan the way he is, what the history of Neverland is, etc. This sounds really fun.
I would say that I'm distressed by the current lack of new material in musical theatre, but the more I consider is the more I realize that many musicals are based off of some other source material. Disney has had great success turning all their animated films into musicals (Beauty and the Beast, Shrek, The Lion King), but, despite that I love both the movies and the musicals, I find myself often wishing for brand new ideas. This isn't just a Disney trend, though. West Side Story, Wicked, A Little Night Music, Hello, Dolly!, My Fair Lady, even Oklahoma! are all based off of other plays, movies, books, etc. I wonder why this happens so much.
I agree that this is a pretty fun idea- I love Peter Pan and would love to know about the beginnings of Neverland. Nevertheless, I feel that this is following the all too similar trend of movie/ animated classics and books turned into musicals, I think that Broadway is opting for a sure "hit", relying on popular material to hopefully produce an even more popular musical. Honestly, the plot of a "pre-qual to Peter Pan" reminds me a whole lot of Wicked. It would be interesting to know if this was at all intentional, considering how much of a smash hit Wicked became.
Yes! I heard such amazing things about this show, and was super bummed out that I wasn't able to see it. I'm glad also to hear that while it is Disney-commissioned, it takes its story mainly from the original novel, and not the musical version or the disney movie, or any of the other iterations of Peter Pan that exist. From this article, it sounds like a pretty creative piece, with 12 actors playing 50 characters, something I hope will be able to translate from a small off-broadway stage like NYTW to a larger Broadway one. Still, I'm always happy to see original work, especially plays, make it to the Broadway stage, and I hope it goes well for them!
I am so excited for this!!! It must be such a fun and exciting show. The creative team sounds really great. I know that many people complain about all the Disney shows on Broadway, but it inspires so many children to get involved in theatre. Of course, original work is something I always prefer, but I find that Broadway has very much become a commercial art form, and at least this is not the very classic Disney show making its way to Broadway, like Beauty and the Beast (which was a great show!) or the Peter Pan movie Disney made. As Broadway is a commercial art form, this is a great addition, and for those looking for more original work, looking Off-Broadway or anywhere else is always an option. I can't wait to see how Disney's first play will be received!
I've always been a huge fan of Peter Pan and his story outside of the original Peter and Wendy staged play, and have actually read the book Peter and the Starcatchers. Although I have not heard much about its stage adaptation, what I remember from the novel seems to be a story that would translate very well into a theatrical production, much in the same way that the original Peter Pan did. I am a bit confused as to why so much effort was put into creating a new Peter Pan prequel story when J.M Barrie had already done this in the book Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. I'm surprised that this story was never adapted to the stage, and am starting to think that maybe it has been, and was not as well received as a newer story may be. It's something to look into.
I think this is bound to be a success. Peter Pan is a childhood and adult favorite across the country. Disney is feeding our need for more. 12 Actors playing 50 characters sounds like a lot of fun and really entertaining. I can only imagine what the prequel to Peter Pan might be. I just might go look at that book now. I didn't realize, for some reason, that like Alice in Wonderland Disney might have created this story for the masses only based on a book and that there might be more to it.
And it's nice to hear that Newsies is doing well. I'm definitely going to have to see that.
While I think Peter Pan is a fantastic is a great story and will translate well to the stage, it is a little disheartening that most of the shows being produced are either revivals, or spin offs of already produced stories or even movies.
While this does produce in trigging and interesting theatre, it is still important to create work that is MADE for the theatrical setting.
As I've said before, I'm not a big fan of the Peter Pan story, but I recognize the artistic and creative potential a production like this has. I would certainly be interested in the story of how Peter came to Neverland, if only so that I can understand his motives, so unlike my own, for wanting to remain a child forever. I also think that this will be an extremely exciting visual show, with Peter Pan as the focus and Disney providing the funding, so I look forward to hearing more about it.
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