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Peter Pan - Elgin Theatre, Toronto, ON - November 2007
written by Tina Tyan
Ross Petty's production of "Peter Pan - The Family Musical That's
Silly. Very Silly!" marks Kurt Browning's first foray onto the
theatrical stage, and as a musical theatre performer, no less. You'd
be hard pressed to tell that it was Kurt's acting debut, however, from
his ease and natural presence as a stage performer. He seems right at
home "on the boards" and inhabits the character of Peter Pan like it
was written for him. In the case of this show, in many ways, it
was.
As "Nana the Dog" tells us in the introduction to the play, this is
decidedly not J.M. Barrie's famous tale of Peter Pan, the boy who
never grew up. The structure is the same - Peter comes to the London
home of the Darling family and takes the three Darling children -
Michael, John, and Wendy - to Neverland with him. There's magical
flying fairy dust, there's Tinkerbell, there are Lost Boys, there's
Peter's nemesis Captain Hook with his sidekick Smee, and there's
Hook's bane, the crocodile. However, in this version of the story,
Michael is an asthmatic, anxious bookworm who likes school, John is an
avid gamer who gets a hand cramp playing "Grand Theft Elmo," Wendy is
an aspiring pop star with an iPod full of songs and aspirations to be
like Christina Aguilera, and Captain Hook plots to go to Hollywood and
become a big movie star. The jokes fly fast and furious, aiming at
everyone from the young children in the audience ("what's a pirate's
favorite letter? arrrrrrr") to the current event and pop culture aware
adults ("Hurry up, we've got to get to Hollywood soon, the writer's
strike may end at any time."). There's something for everyone, and
that something is very, very funny.
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Photographer: Bruce Zinger. Image courtesy Ross Petty Productions |
Adding to the charm of the show are the songs. "Peter Pan" is a
musical, but a musical comprised of well-known pop songs rather than
original songs. Kurt sings two songs - "It's Not Easy Being Green"
and "Theme from Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not)" - and
reveals himself to be a competent singer. He's never going to be a pop
star, but he's clearly been working on his singing and has a nice
natural style, and even projects his voice nicely on the longer notes.
The placement of his songs in the show was wise, since the rest of the
cast are very talented musical theater performers, and the contrast is
minimized by leading off with Kurt's songs. The other songs in the
show range from the Beach Boys to Queen to Aretha Franklin to Fantasia
Barrino to the Pussycat Dolls and more. The cast are all wonderful
singers, and these numbers were truly showstoppers.
What makes a panto particularly fun, and uniquely suited to Kurt's
abilities, though, is its interactive and improvisational nature. The
audience is encouraged to cheer the hero and boo the villain, and the
actors feed off and wink at the audience. Ross Petty as Hook in
particular picks up on things the audience shouts and spins them into
jokes, but Kurt also does his part. Anyone who watches Kurt try to
kill time during retakes for a skating show has a pretty good idea how
good Kurt is at being off the cuff amusing, and he puts those skills
to good use in the show. Whether he's playing off of Ross Petty's
improvisations, turning technical mishaps into laughs, or winking into
the audience, he's in his element. He often manages to wink at/draw
the audience in while simultaneously maintaining his character's happy
innocence. His delivery of both the scripted dialogue and his own
improvised bits are equally natural and unforced, with great comic
timing. The only thing that occasionally seems to step over the top
at times are his exaggerated arm motions and facial expressions, but
for the most part it works since the stage requires some exaggeration
in body language and delivery.
Not just taking advantage of Kurt Browning's improvisational skills,
his acting skills, his flying skills, or even his singing skills, this
production of "Peter Pan" even takes advantage of his skating skills.
There are a lot of in-jokes in this play for skating fans, with
everyone from Elvis Stojko to Toller Cranston to Scott Hamilton
getting name-checked in hilarious fashion, and all sorts of skating
references and jokes thrown in. But even more than that, Kurt
demonstrates once again that he's the master of anything strapped to
the feet that can be called a skate. In "Stars on Ice" and "Snowden
on Ice," he proved that he didn't need toe-picks to do some impressive
footwork. In "Peter Pan," he proves he doesn't even need blades to
lay down fancy footwork, spins, and even jumps - just a pair of inline
skates and any available surface on a fairly small stage set. The
inline skating tricks combined with sword-fighting, flying, and even a
bit of pairs skating, result in a hilarious, highly entertaining piece
that only Kurt could pull off. Words can't describe it - it has to be
seen in person to get the full effect.
It should be emphasized, however, that the show's excellence is not
simply due to Kurt Browning. They've assembled a very talented cast
who are all fantastic singers and hilarious actors, who each bring a
great deal to their roles on stage. Ross Petty, in his twelfth such
panto, clearly revels in bringing the evil but hapless Hook to life,
mixing witty asides with Hook's gloating plotting, playing to the
audience and creating a villain that we love to hate. His chemistry
with his good friend Kurt Browning is particularly fun, as the two
clearly have a great time playing off of each other, trading insults
and banter. One of the particular highlights of the show was Eddie
Glen as Smee and Nana the Dog, one of the funniest performers in the
cast with a terrific singing voice, hilarious characterization and
delivery, and a wonderful energy to his performance. He also does one
of the best ventriloquist dummy imitations I've ever seen.
The rest of the cast are all at the top of their game as well. The
three Darling children are excellent. Meghan Hoople as Wendy has an
incredible, powerful singing voice, and brings a sweet vulnerability
on top of underlying strength to the role. Brandon Banks as Michael
is a terrific tap dancer with a lovely boy soprano voice, while
Matthew Del Bel Belluz brings an impish, thoroughly committed energy
(and some serious dancing and singing skills of his own) to John. The
three Lost Boys sound fantastic singing together, and are utterly
hilarious in their respective roles - Steven Gallagher as the stoned
surfer dude Chad, Larry Mannell as the hyper-energetic goofy Keef, and
Geoffrey Tyler as temperamental Spanish chef Miguel. Jennifer Waiser
is a sassy, confident Tinkerbell who makes a believable Queen Bee,
while Kiri Etzkorn has the crisp confidence of a savvy businesswoman
who is also a talented dancer as Tiger Lily.
Each of the pirates (who also were the fantastic backup dancers) give
their characters a unique twist. Diana Coatsworth is a ditzy but eager
Pirate Jenny (as well as the haughty Ashley Darling). Matthew Armet
hilariously embodies the high strung (and high-pitched) nervous Pirate
Tim, while Caden Douglas captures the winking corporate arrogance of
his slick, Starbucks-drinking stockbroker Pirate Dave. Dani Jazzar as
the stuffed Polly-toting, Slash-looking Pirate Long John Silver,
Donnie MacPhee as the hapless Pirate Terry and breakdancing Crocodile,
and Wilson Wong as the equally hapless Pirate Rick and Peter's Shadow
all are fun to watch. Rounding out the cast are the three beautiful
and multi-talented ladies who are equally at home shimmering and
performing in tails as the Mermaids, and kung fu fighting and dancing
as Tiger Lily's handmaidens - Lindsey Frazier, Julia Juhas, and Adele
MacKenzie. The writing and choreography are excellent, the music
arrangements wonderful, and the overall production just really well
done. The jokes and fun moments are too numerous to list, and should
be seen to be truly appreciated.
Overall, this was an excellent, skillfully put together production
that makes for a highly enjoyable and entertaining night (or
afternoon) out for all ages. Kids will love it for the songs, the fun
characters, and the physical humor. Adults will appreciate the clever
pop culture, political, and current event references. Kurt Browning
fans can look forward to the skating in-jokes and seeing Kurt prove
himself to be as comfortable and charismatic on stage as on the ice.
And everyone should walk out with a smile on their faces.
"Peter Pan" runs through January 6, 2008 at the Elgin Theatre in
Toronto, ON. For more information,
visit http://www.rosspetty.com.
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