director and President’s notes
director’s notes
A few years ago, I had a phone conversation with a friend from New York who told me I had to see “Peter and the Star Catcher”: “It’s a Theater Project play.” A few decades earlier, when he was in secondary school in Brunswick, he had been a regular actor with the Young People’s Theater (which became The Theater Project). I went to New York with a son and daughter and some grandchildren and we did see the play. We loved it!
When Wendy Poole put it on the schedule this year, I was excited to do it. I still am!
Rick Elice’s script is Shakespearean in its wit and plot, blending his hip contemporary references with allusions to Shakespeare, Walt Whitman, Charles Dickens, John Donne and others - listen for them. The action is fast moving, the actors play several parts, scene locations shift like the wind. And at the center are a silent orphan and a very smart girl, both of whom grow into young heroes who are wise, caring and lucid. They will go on to join a crocodile and a one-handed pirate with a hook to create a very popular story. You’ll get more than a hint of that here.
It is obvious when a director says: “I couldn’t have done this without the actors.” I’ll say it anyway: I couldn’t have done this without the actors! They have come together with varied experience, some of them knowing each other, others not. Nine of them are new to me. In a crushed five weeks of rehearsal, they have offered ideas, suggestions, arguments and a willingness to take chances and experiment. They are an ensemble of smart, eager and witty players who have collaborated to bring this script to life.
I also could not have done it without the musicians, Kate and Asher. They have brought their musical expertise, a willingness to “work things out,” and have blended the cast into a singing dancing troupe ready for Broadway!
And Maggie, our unflappable stage manager, has held all of this together.
I am grateful to all of these collaborators and to our designers, Chris, JP and Jen Roe, who have been willing, witty and supportive partners. And Wendy, our producer and leader, has skillfully and supportively marshaled the whole project: thank you, Wendy.
So, on we go. Enjoy the show and tell your friends about it. Imagination lives at The Theater Project! Thank you for coming.
-Al Miller
president’s notes
Welcome to the first show of 2019! We are deep in the winter doldrums, but we made it through a cold January and the days are getting noticeably longer. I can’t think of a better way to pass a winters evening than to share live theater with friends and family. Peter and the Starcatcher is the prequel to the beloved Peter Pan, a story I always found kind of strange, but most people really like. The themes of childhood and growing up are weighing heavily upon me as my own children are becoming more and more independent. It has been a real time saver that my daughter Emma has been able to drive herself to the many rehearsals for this show, but there is also a part of me that misses hanging out in the car in front of TTP waiting for her to be done with rehearsal.
Like so many shows at TTP, this show is a mix of TTP veterans like my daughter Emma and other members of the young company and professional new comers. Like all TTP shows they have pulled it all together in just a few weeks under the wise direction of Al Miller and the incomparable organizational skills of Maggie Adolf.
Please join us for the rest of the spring season which includes Inherit the Wind and Voices in the Mirror. Please save the date of Friday, April 26 for our annual benefit auction at The Daniel. See you at the Theater.
-Nina Roth-Wells