Peter Pan At The Theater At MSG, Thursday, December 22nd, Reviewed
Cathy Rigby at 60 years old is indeed Peter Pan, the little boy who never grew up. And this despite my nine year old companion Juliet's look of shock when she discovered Peter was a girl. I, like any responsible Uncle, ignored the question and got on with watching the travelling production of "Peter Pan", the same one Mary Martin performed in 1954 and the same one the Olympic gymnast did from 1974 – 2005, and has returned to. in 2012
The book and music for "Peter Pan" is mostly fine, especially the exuberant "I've Gotta Crow" and classic "I Won’t Grow Up". Plus over and above the awful ""Tender Shepherd", the rest of the music is passable and more story movers.
Peter Pan is, of course, based upon J.M. Barrie's classic 1904 (ergo Victorian era play about the titular character who lives in n"Never Never Land" and takes youngster Wendy and her two brothers there, where they have adventures with Tiger Lily and the dreaded Doctor Hook.
So how is this production. Pretty good for summerstock, Juliet loved it and didn’t seem to mind the lusiest Crocodile known to man, the strings attached shenanigans of the protagonists, or that, cmon folks, a 60 year old Peter Pan?
Me? I thought that if you are gonna pay a small fortune for a ticket to see the show from a illion miles away, it shouldn't be such a cheapo stinko production.
Still, Rigby is a pleasant singer and ridiculously athletic for any age, the children in the audience adored it, and it kept their attention, including Juliet, who sat next to me, eating popcorn and watching the action intently.
My Grade: C+
Juliet's Grade: B+
