Step into the magical world of Neverland with Peter Pan, even if just for a weekend.
Kicking off their 40th anniversary season, Delta Center Stage is, once again, doing their rendition of “Peter Pan” for their summer youth musical.
Curtains open at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Jake and Freda Stein Hall at E.E. Bass Cultural Arts Center, 323 S. Main St.
Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. nightly Friday through Saturday and Sunday’s matinee performance starts at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for students 16 or under and $20 for general adult admission
Tickets can be purchased online at deltastage.com, Bass offices, Montage Marketplace or at the ticket booth. Or, if people get in touch with a cast member, tickets can be purchased at a discounted price.
This is DCS’s fourth rendition of “Peter Pan,” a musical based on J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play. The music is by Morris Charlap and Jule Stein.
Co-directors Allie Rowe and Sara Wilkerson said they are beyond proud of the 90-plus youth cast for all their hard work and joy they bring to the show.
“They have worked so hard and they have done such a fabulous job and I can’t wait until they show their amazing talents to this community,” Rowe said.
“We’ve tried to make magic for the audience, so we hope that everyone comes out and see our hard work,” Wilkerson said.
Professional flying effects are being done with the help of internationally-renowned FOY Inventerprises, of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rowe, who was in the last rendition of “Peter Pan,” said she couldn’t pass on the opportunity to help direct the show.
“It was a really exciting experience because I was in the previous “Peter Pan” and it was one of the memories I’ll cherish forever and I was excited to help recreate this vision with a new group of kids,” Rowe said.
Wilkerson said she is happy to co-direct with someone she started doing theater with since she started getting involved with Delta Center Stage.
“I’ve been involved in theater for a very long time so it was a really exciting opportunity to be able to take lead and especially getting to be co-director with someone whom I started theater with,” Wilkerson said.
Macy Robinson, who plays Peter Pan, said she is looking forward to participating in her last show, which is one of her childhood favorites, before she heads to college.
“I am very honored, thrilled and nervous,” Robinson said. “This is my last show before I go off to college, where I will be majoring in theater. I am happy to be ending it in with a childhood favorite. Everyone has their own version of “Peter Pan” in their head, I just hope to bring this amazing childhood play into reality.”
Gavin Wells, who plays the roles of Mr. Darling and Captain Hook, said he enjoys playing the “bad guy.”
“It’s fun being the villain,” Wells said. “I’m just trying to convince the audience, who is rooting for the good guy, to root for me.”
Robinson said she hopes that this play takes the audience away from their everyday stresses and, for a couple of hours, revisit their childhood.
“I hope that we’re able to take them from day-to-day lives and remind them what it’s like to be a child and see the world from a very magical and joyful place,” Robinson said.
Both Robinson and Wells said they would like to thank the parents of their younger cast members, who took time out of their days to make sure the younger ones had everything they needed.
“Everyone has been such a big help to us. We can’t put on a show without everyone’s participation.”
Season line-up
The rest of the shows for Delta Center Stage’s season lineup includes Godspell, Sept. 12-15; the annual Greenville Cemetery Tour, Oct. 18-20; Murder on the Orient Express, Dec. 5-8; Little Shop of Horrors, Feb. 27-Mar. 1, 2020; and A Time to Kill, April 30-May 3, 2020.
For more information, visit deltastage.com or call 662-820-5489.
