Broadway Review-----PETER AND THE STARCATCHER

It is possible to appreciate Art and not like it. One can admire the skill and talent behind something but not particularly enjoy it. One can say "Well Done" but know that it wasn't really to their particular taste. These are the feelings I had after seeing PETER AND THE STARCATCHER. This is a highly original and incredibly unique piece of theater. 12 Actors tell the story of how Peter Pan came to be. The staging is ingenious, the cast is superb, and the scenic and lighting designs are impressive. The use of everyday objects as props is incredibly clever and everything has a "homemade" feel to it but on a Broadway budget, and that's a compliment. I write this knowing that I am in awe of the minds that it took to put an evening like this together. Rick Elice wrote the script and it's based on a novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Roger Rees and Alex Timbers are the directors and all of them are to be commended. It's a very smart evening of theater and the half-filled house loved it. However, I did not love it. I can't even say that I liked it. What I CAN say is that I appreciated it. I was captivated by the stagecraft and the energy of the cast. I could see the work that went into every second of the piece and can only imagine how creative the rehearsal process must have been. But it just wasn't for me. I know that I am in the minority since it is critically praised and audiences adore it. Potato, Potahto. As I stated before, the Cast is excellent. Celia Keenan-Bolger, Adam Chanler-Berat, and especially Christian Borle are fabulous. But the other 9 actors are equally brilliant. The energy that it takes to get through this piece every night is extraordinary and not one of them lets down their guard for a moment. At the end of Act One, I resigned myself to the fact that I was the only person in the theater that wasn't having a good time. Until Act Two started and I noticed a few more empty seats around me, which made the house look even smaller. So my final analysis....PETER AND THE STARCATCHER is not bad, it's just not my thing. SIDE NOTE....Troy arrived today and saw END OF THE RAINBOW tonight. He was left speechless by it and when we got back to the hotel room, he got on Telecharge and got a ticket to tomorrow's matinee so he could see it again. He said and I quote "I've never seen anything in my life like that woman's performance....I have to see it again."