All it takes is faith, trust, and a little pixie dust. This Thursday and Friday, Cap & Bells will bring audiences a sense of whimsy, imagination, and child-like wonder in its production of Rick Elice’s play Peter and the Starcatcher.
The play, an adaptation of Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s 2004 best-selling novel Peter and the Starcatchers, follows characters who inhabit Neverland. Employing the world of J.M. Barrie’s classic fairytale The Adventures of Peter Pan, the play introduces audiences to a whole new cast of characters that expands on the familiar setting.
The production’s director Tim Gore ’24 has had a variety of theatre experience during his time at the College, from acting and stage managing to directing shows. He proposed Peter and the Starcatcher to the Cap & Bells board for the spring season with Leo Marbug ’24, who is the musical director for the play.
For Gore, the show explores the anxiety and beauty of growing up. “As I’ve gotten older, there’s a lot of Peter Pan-adjacent [pieces of media] that I’ve really enjoyed,” Gore said. “They capture the spirit of the original story, which is all about imagination and play and child-like wonder. I think this play also does that in a really powerful way, too. It’s all about the pain, but also the joy of growing up.”
“We wanted to do a show that meant something to us,” Marburg said.
“The show is silly and goofy … but there are some really powerful moments,” Gore added. “It’s so beautifully written.”
Gore and Marburg — having worked on numerous productions together like Cap & Bells’ production of Pippin last spring — landed on Rick Elice’s heartfelt rendition of the classic fairytale after reflecting on its plot.
“I remembered the first time I saw the play… That was what brought it to the front of my mind when we were thinking about shows [to propose],” Gore said. However, it wasn’t until he read the script that Gore understood the unique story-telling structure of the work.
For most of the play, all the actors are on stage and the characters address the audience to narrate the show. “That’s when it clicked in my mind that it’s meant to be a small cast,” Gore said. “That’s where I understood the ensemble-driven nature of the show.”
Cast and crew alike said that they anticipate the play’s strong ensemble to capture its audiences’ attention. “Almost everyone is on stage for the entirety of Act 1, which I think is an amazing thing that Tim did,” said Emma Hennessy ’26, who is playing Boy, one of the lead roles. “It creates a great community for the show… [The play] feels like it’s about storytelling, and it’s about everyone coming together to show something to the audience.”
Casey Monteiro ’24, who is playing Molly, another lead role, said that the small cast size helped push herself and fellow cast members out of their comfort zone. “People’s willingness to try new things and take risks and Tim always telling us to play … that is the threshold of being able to unlock the possibility of play as a concept in theatre,” she said.
Gore said that his collaboration with the cast has been valuable in realizing the play’s unique narrative structure and how it explores themes of childhood and growing up. “I think the thing that has come out to me more over the course of the process is the theme of growing up, and honestly that has a lot to do with hearing the lines and how they are spoken by our cast members,” Gore continued. “It has caused certain lines to stand out to me even more.”
Monteiro recalled her own fondness for the play. “I was cast in this [part] four years ago but never got to perform it on stage in front of an audience [due to COVID-19],” she said. “When I saw that Cap & Bells was doing the show, [I thought] it would be so cool to be able to play the role of Molly.”
Hennessy said that the show’s playful plot drew her to audition for Peter and the Starcatcher. “There are a lot of storybook moments which seemed fun and not something that I’ve really seen at Williams so far,” she said.
Members of the play expressed that its high-spirited qualities invites viewers to reflect on their own memories of childhood and joy. “The show has reminded me about the importance of play… It’s fun to have this play be about these childhood interactions,” Marbug added. “Maybe we can loosen up ourselves and have adventures.”
“I hope [the audience] has fun,” Gore said. “I’m trying not to reveal too much [of the plot], but I hope that they can embrace their inner child.”
Cap and Bells’ production of Peter and the Starcatcher will be performed at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22 and Friday, Feb. 23, in Goodrich Hall. For tickets, visit the Cap & Bells’ Instagram.
