'Peter Pan' at Newtown High School - My Review

The Newtown High School theater program worked very hard at getting the challenging musical Peter Pan up on their auditorium stage. The show opens this weekend March 20  through 23, but on Wednesday evening they invited senior citizens to a special dress rehearsal. I was honored to be invited once again for a preview of what proved to be another outstanding production. 

The show brings this strong theater program to new heights because there is flying and plenty of it.  Professional equipment has been brought in to bring the magic of the Peter Pan story to life. Crew members, including producer Janice Gabriel, are building muscles backstage in order to pull it off. The student technical crew was led again by Mitchell Girgasky. The flying technology, coupled with the beautifully lit and amazing sets (designed and constructed by Bill Mangold, Mike Cummings, Eric Greto, and Zach Charles) give this production a highly professional feel.

More than 75 Newtown High School students appear in the cast and a good number of them have been affected by the various illnesses that had been sweeping through local classrooms. This did not stop them from presenting a top notch performance at this dress rehearsal. The members of the huge ensemble worked together beautifully and gave us a high-energy and joyous show.

Jane Matson served as both director and choreographer. The staging of the musical numbers was impressive, especially the scene that featured all kinds of drumming. Even more impressive was the choreography that the students pulled off perfectly and included tap, ballet, and many more styles. Jenna Siroky served as assistant choreographer.

Junior Victoria Madden had the spunk and singing voice to play the lead role and appeared as if she had been flying onstage all her life. A small group of ballerina fairies opened the show as they danced to a choral piece sung backstage by an accapella group that was directed by Ms. Matson and arranged by Musical Director Brett Boles. Senior Lauren Russo danced beautifully on pointe as the feisty and very green Tinkerbell. CJ Landgrebe rose to the challenge of Captain Hook; he is both a strong actor and singer. His sidekick Smee was played by the talented Kyle Mangold.

Kirsten Liniger (Miss Krumholtz in last year's How to Succeed...), who served as assistant producer to Ms. Gabriel, was also strong as Tiger Lily, the leader of the female Indians. Lexi Tobin was a shining Wendy, both young and grown up. Jeff Haylon did a great job as her top-hatted brother John, and Reagin Gallagher was pretty adorable as Michael. Megan Primavera played the role of young Jane in the last scene. These last four knew when they auditioned that they had to fly along with Peter.

Kudos to all the young men and women who played pirates and lost boys, both featured and ensemble. They are too many to keep straight, but all did a great job.

The large pit orchestra was recently named the best in the state, and the mostly students musicians were excellent at bringing this score to life. They were under the direction of Musical Director, Brett Boles and Pit Instructor, NHS Band Director Kurt Eckhardt. The orchestra frequently played under dialogue without overpowering the actors.

Katie Wolff, last seen as Miss Jones in H2S, gave an impressive performance as Mrs. Darling and Aidan Petershack, who was Chairman of the Board Womper in H2S, did a fine job as her husband; both used the required English accent. Also in the cast was Annika Fagerholm as the Darling family's maid. Alessandra Lalli never got to stand up onstage as she covered the roles of both Nana the dog and Croc, the reptile that swallowed the ticking clock.

The senior citizens gave the performance a standing ovation. I met a grandmother of one of the performers that had traveled from Florida to attend. Many "Broadway quality" comments could be heard as I headed home. Sincere congratulations to all the students and the adults who work with them.

Peter Pan is presented with a 15 minute intermission. It runs March 20, 21, 22 at 7:00 pm and March 23 at 2:00 pm. Tickets available at the door $16- General Admission $12- Student & Senior Citizens  For more information: call: (203)364-4534 or email: nhsmusicals@gmail.com. This show appeals to all ages so don't miss it.

For more photos, check out my review on my home site, Naugatuck Patch.