Now is the time for the bedtime story.
A great bedtime story will make us giggle, it will make us wonder, it will help us get ready for dreams and, perhaps most of all, it will help us realize that we are safe in this world.
That’s the kind of story being told at the Milwaukee Rep, where "Peter and the Starcatcher" opened this week.
It’s a story that is full of laughter, some of the funniest stuff scene on a Milwaukee stage this season. It’s got everything that a bedtime story should have. There are heroes and villains, there is a secret mission, a secret treasure, a boy and a girl, threats, drama on the high seas, good and evil, and a happy ending as you close your eyes and drift off to a gentle and warm sleep.
The play is based on a novel written Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. The adaptation by Rick Elice had a nice run on Broadway and won Tony awards. It's a story that carried an opening night audience on the wings of imagination.
The story is a prequel to the wondrous life of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up.
It’s such a simple story. A 13-year-old orphan with no name and no home takes off into a life filled with joys and sorrows, fear and courage. And as the play moves on, he gets a name, a name that gives full identity to the legend that he becomes.
This large cast of actors is sublime. They take turns moving the play along with bits of narrative that both seduce and amuse. The story bounces along on the a collective sense of humor where everyone laughs at the same time.
There is such joy in the humor, potty humor of flatulence and burps and sophisticated humor that takes much of it from our current lives.
We are transported to distant lands where an island king serenades us with a modern day rap, to ships being tossed by a roiling sea.
Se are faced with questions like what makes a leader and how do you be a loyal friend.
Everything about this play is joyful hilarity. It’s about the way we all search for the way we can escape gravity and how surprising it can be when we find out that we all have a way to get there.
All it takes is a ride on our own S. S. Neverland to find out how to fly.
This final production for the Rep this season is everything great about live theater. This is not just theater that is live it is theater that is full of life. It’s great for adults and great for children, and who could ask for more.
As Molly, the object of his affection, tells Peter in all seriousness: "All you need is star stuff, and you can be anything you want." "Peter and the Starcatcher" runs through May 24, and information about showtimes and tickets is available here.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
