The cast and crew of “Peter Pan” are excited to put on their adaptation of the 1953 Walt Disney classic.
By KRYSTAL NURSE
The Sun
Clearview Regional High School’s fall play, “Peter Pan,” is set to hit the stage in late November, and the actors have put in hours of hard work to rehearse and perfect their parts in hopes of propelling the audience back to the fictional place of Neverland.
Students from the high school and middle school will play the roles of Peter Pan, Wendy, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook,Tiger Lily, The Lost Boys, among others.
“This is our second year of our fall play, and kids work so hard, and we’re thrilled to give them a second experience because in the spring, we’ve had a musical since I think 1979,” said director and high school guidance counselor Paul Sommers. “I’m excited to have the fall play back again.”
The title role is played by senior Logan DiVerniero of Mullica Hill and sophomore Melissa Pratt of Mantua. They both said they studied not only Disney’s character, but also how gymnast-turned-actress Cathy Rigby played the part of the young boy.
“I haven’t watched it a lot prior to auditioning except as a kid, but I watched Cathy Rigby for the live-action on YouTube and went through it a lot,” said DiVerniero. “Especially because doing a boy voice is extremely difficult and seeing her and getting ideas on how to play off on how she did it. ”
“It was weeks after school, looking things over and just watching the movie,” said Pratt. “I’ve probably watched it 10 times.”
DiVerniero hopes to use this performance on her resume for New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Junior and Mantua resident Paige Bathurst, who plays Tinker Bell, said she’s excited to be able to play the role and introduce the high school’s version of the character.
“In the beginning when Peter Pan and Tinker Bell are in the nursery, she does not talk,” said Bathurst. “She’s just a light, so I’ll have a black costume with lights on my fingers and then I’ll have a costume where I will speak to the Lost Boys of Neverland.”
Bathurst is also starring alongside her two twin younger brothers, Adam (who plays Smee) and Ethan (who plays John).
Sommers, who acted from fifth grade through college, said the actors in “Peter Pan” have been putting in at least 10 hours of rehearsal, weekly, since the September auditions.
“They’re here for a long time, specifically weeknights. As we get closer to the show, they’re here until around 11 p.m. and working on their lines outside of that,” said Sommers.
The kids, Sommers added, participate in several outside summer theater programs, including his at Kingsway Regional, which can help them strengthen the quality of the productions at Clearview.
“We’re always thrilled to see them in their summer shows,” said Sommers. “Pitman recreational has a theater program, Mainstage has students who gain a ton of experience, and then they bring it to Clearview to make our shows better.”
Sophomore and Mantua resident Faith Crossan said she’s happy to be able to play the part of Wendy again, but this time for the school.
“I’ve been in it for my summer program (West Deptford Center Stage Plays) back when I was 11, and it’s been pretty cool doing it as a high school performance,” said Crossan.
Maggie Sullivan, senior, Mullica Hill resident, was cast to play the role of Tiger Lily and the play is her second comeback after starring in the school’s production of “A Christmas Carol,” but having a more prominent character in this year’s play, which gave her some nerves when auditioning.
“I remember last year that I was so nervous, and this year I was as well because it was a part bigger than last year, and it’s just a lot of work and was a lot of fun,” said Sullivan.
Junior Gavin Smith of Mantua, who will play the part of Captain Hook, is anticipating the play because it will be his first role as an antagonist.
“I’ve been in musicals and I’ve played the gangster in ‘Sister Act,’” said Smith. “He was kind of a bad guy, but he wasn’t the bad guy. Hook’s kind of the bad guy. He’s sinister, whereas the guy I played in ‘Sister Act’ was fun-loving and had funny parts.”
Sommers added he hopes the students will be able to perform a few scenes at a local nursing home or hospital in November and that the play can ignite the creation a daytime theater program, which is common in area high schools.
“Build it up to where there are one-act plays throughout the year and maybe different reviews and different opportunities for students to get involved outside of the fall play and the spring musical, but we’re happy with what we have now, that’s for sure,” said Sommers.
All of the actors in the play said they cannot wait for the Nov. 29, 30 and Dec. 1 show dates, especially with the option of stage seating.
“They’ll be literally on the stage, 80 seats on each side of the stage, and we do it in a mini black box seating setting,” said Sommers. “Sometimes black box seating is in a round, small settling. We try to have stage seating to allow for people to be closer to the actors.”
Tickets for the special seating are $13, whereas ones for the center section are $10. No seating is available on the sides due to the stage seating. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ClearviewRegional.edu starting Nov. 1, and showtimes for the play are: Nov. 29 and 30 at 7 p.m.; Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
