What if there was a play that could make you see how the world could be instead of the way that it is? Second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning. Though not quite. A little before that. Before that? You ask? Inconceivable! Wrong. Think again. Before there was the Pan as we know him, all green-clad and crowing, flying and taunting the infamous Captain Hook, there was a nameless boy…a perhaps even a lost boy, two ships, an island, a very, very large Crocodile, and a haphazardly slapdash bunch of pirates all mixed up with a bunch of English sailors. Throw it in a blender, fast-forward, and you get Peter Pan, but first you have Peter & The Starcatcher, conveniently enough now appearing on the main stage of Cockpit in Court’s summer theatre. Directed by Eric J. Potter with Musical Direction & Supervision by Jim Kraus, this enchanting and charming ‘origins story’ is a true ensemble piece, worked fantastically in the vein of British Panto and set for the masses to enjoy.

Let’s get the griping out of the way as it’s mostly just the one complaint when it comes to this otherwise stellar sensation; the show’s sound balance needs help. Send up a smoke signal, send up an SOS, send a secret porpoise-dodo code— fix the sound balance. You have Jim Kraus (live on keys) with Andrew J. Boeren (percussion) easing the celestial sounds of Wayne Barker’s score into the ether of the stage, with people talking and occasionally singing thrown into the mix. And then you have Jason Randolph’s sound design effects and elements blended in, which somehow end up overpowering the speaking and musical augmentation, making it difficult to hear even when the mics are working flawlessly, which they aren’t always doing. You’ve got too superb of a cast under to impressive of a director’s keen eye to have sound being the primary distraction for this production. Randolph serves as the show’s TD (with an assist from David Martin) and between the two of them— x-marking the spot and all— one can only hope that they fix these aural issues for the remaining two weekends of the run.

Aesthetically the show is alluring, calling out like a siren to those of us who crave adventure. Scenic Designer Michael Rasinski (and scenic artist Theresa Foggo) has crafted this almost dreamscape of a fantasy awash in nautical-island vibes from a timestamp some century or so ago; it’s nostalgic and inspiring, the way the proscenium arch is flanked, the way the set almost looks as if it could spill out into the audience; the simplicity juxtaposed against the functional ingenuity of it; Rasinski has crafted a masterpiece that is both delicately plain and ornately evocative of some yet-to-be-discovered memory of childhood in action. It’s wondrous strange and perfectly suited for this fairytale-like narrative. Augmented by the Lighting Design of Phil Vannoorbeeck, Rasinski’s set almost comes to life— like a tertiary character in the making. Vannoorbeeck, working in tandem with Randolph’s sound-works, really enhances the ship-boarding-crashing-storm experience and enthralls the audience with simple yet enchanting special effects that cites excitement in the very cockles of the heart.

Sartorially, Wil Crowther floats in the vein of tasteful yet piratical simplicity. And it’s effective. You know they’re pirates, or at the least, men of the sea, you know the time stamp is not of our present day, and you get that Molly is the girl on ship with her Governess-Nanny, Mrs. Bumbrake. Amy Vickers is adding to the show’s thrills with her masterful prop creations. Teddy’s pineapple, Mr. Grin, and the glowing lockets come immediately to mind. Nuanced and detailed, Vickers and Crowther round out the curiously brilliant production values of the show’s aesthetic inner workings.

While not a musical, the show does contain music. With an original score by Wayne Baker (and the two aforementioned live musicians) there’s also some sea-shantying from the cast of 13. The one that immediately comes to mind and brings forth the giggles is “Mermaid Outta Me”, sung by 11 or so of the cast— all fabulously bedecked into MERMAIDS (mad props, praise, and all that jazz to Crowther for his insane efforts to make those mermaids pop in that number.) I believe it’s only Peter not mermaiding it up in that number and that’s only because his character has to start the very next scene all alone! The singing, on the whole, in this production is beautifully well-blended, though there’s only a few songs, and the orchestral accompaniments are glorious in the hands of Kraus and Boeren.

Eric J. Potter, as the show’s director, has vision for this show. The nature of Peter & The Starcatcher is that of a true ensemble piece. It’s also strongly steeped in the British tradition of Panto; Potter achieves both to great success with his seasoned approach. At a great many times throughout the performance, even ‘principal’ characters are furniture or set-pieces, swinging doors or gates, etc. And they often move or speak as one, even when sharing the dialogue line-at-a-time or sweeping about the stage in various directions. Potter draws a unifying thread through them— a shimmering string of togetherness, creating an unbreakable bond that enables them to tell this tale brilliantly and beautifully. Potter keeps up the show’s vigorous pacing as well (shoutout to stage manager Lisa L. Boeren for the assist with that), allowing for the necessary flow of scene-work, character development, and comedic interface that richly enhances the overall performance experience. Potter also seems to have a keen handle on how to elevate the Panto-components of this production without turning it into over-the-top egg-on-your-face comedy. There’s a great deal of physicality, gesture-based work, and precision timing that Potter has massaged into the ensemble-cast and the payoff is brilliant.

Phoebe Bell, Jeff Burch, Aaron Fletcher, Ryan Garbee, Gabrielle Gertner, Lou Ghitman, J Purnell Hargrove, Darren McDonnel, Barney Rinaldi, Joey Rolandelli, John Sheldon, Dan Wagner, and Maxwell Wolf; a cast of 13 extraordinarily talented humans pulling themselves together to create a wondrous adventure on stage, truly an awfully big adventure, if you ask me. They work as one whilst simultaneously each having moments where they pop as their named characters, making the audience marvel at their wonders. No divas, no stage hogs, a truly balanced ensemble with each actor receiving their due in the limelight when the moment is just right. It’s rare to see an ensemble work so pristinely together; this baker’s dozen has that more than going for them in this charming production of Peter & The Starcatcher.

Accents across the board are rather on-point; mostly English, severely dated, and rather over-the-top for certain characters. It’s a guaranteed hallmark of community theatre that the accents included in any given production will be a bit like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates, only with this particular production, it’s all the best kinds. You get affectations— like whatever retro-flash-modern thing it is that J Purnell Hargrove is doing with Fighting Prawn, it’s so wild and out of left field that you can’t help but laugh and enjoy it, or the simpering yet serious sound that Jeff Burch is creating as Mrs. Bumbrake— and a few polished, hardened accents like with Dan Wagner’s Lord Aster or Gabrielle Gertner’s Molly. It fits the bill and keeps you engaged and it rolls along like the waves of the show roll to you from the stage.

Lou Ghitman (as Mack/Sanchez), Ryan Garbee (as Bill Slank/Hawking Clam), and J Purnell Hargrove (as Grempkin/Fighting Prawn) are hauling credited double-duty. While each of the performers often doubles up as scenery, generalized narrative figures, or other ensemble features as previously mentioned, these three performers actually flip characters part-way or midway through. Ghitman’s Sanchez is humorous when going back and forth with Black Stache about his name, whilst Garbee’s Bill Slank is a little terrifying, particularly when he’s barking orders about on the deck of the ship. And while Hargrove’s Grempkin is some sort of horrific evil, his Fighting Prawn is an absolute riot. Off-the-cuff and occasionally ad-libbing it— a trait that Hargrove is known for in their theatre-work— the character is hilarious and lands a world of humor once they cast lands themselves on Mollusk Island. And while Barney Rinaldi (as Captain Robert Falcon Scott) is only named as one character, when he’s slinking about as scenery, you can’t help but feel that he’s really two or three.

The Asters— Molly (Gabrielle Gertner) and Lord Leonard (Dan Wagner) are the catalyst for this whole inadvertent adventure. And while Gertner’s Molly has that appropriate petulant English whine when it comes to insisting she knows more, is better at something, or wants her way, she’s also sincere and deeply curious— like a hybrid of Alice and Wendy from other such literary masterpieces. The way she engages with Peter is a wonder in and of itself, and the genuine nurturing relationship that she presents when it comes to interacting with her father character is delightful. Wagner, as the patriarch figure, is beautifully grounded in that role and will absolutely bring a tear to your eye, tugging at your heartstrings when he settles Peter into Neverland. Wagner experiences that moment of epiphany so thoroughly that even if you know it’s coming, you’re experiencing it for the first time through his eyes and it’s a strikingly powerful moment. His stage presence is natural, much like Gertner’s and their father-daughter bond feels authentic.

Sliding into the Panto-range Jeff Burch is astonishingly brilliant as Mrs. Bumbrake. The wise-cracking one-liners— particularly about the bloomers and facing worse wind— are exactingly delivered in Burch’s capable hands and his remarkable capability to keep a straight face while rolling through these over-the-top ooey-gooey moments shared with Alf (Joey Rolandelli) is top-notch. Rolandelli is playing it fiercely focused, which adds to the comedy of their conjoined scenes and although the pair are often quickly slipping in and out of scenes— or rolling through in a bloomer-powered rowboat, you can’t help but love every time they’re on stage. Burch also makes an inconceivably clever mermaid-teacher and you are both desperate to hang on his every word in that moment whilst simultaneously wanting to giggle.

If you want to have an underling— better call on Smee (John Sheldon.) Gruff but supportive, exceptional comic timing, and basically a scruffy floormat for Black Stache, Sheldon is an excellent addition to this cast, heartily playing up the character for both truth and humor. Watching him set the Smee character as the ‘mermaid siren trap’ later in the second act is diabolically humorous and entirely necessary for the show’s full enjoyment. He plays extraordinarily well off of Darren McDonnel (in the indescribably flamboyant role of Black Stache) and also blends quietly into the ensemble when each of the characters is required to do so.

Darren McDonnel brings an effervescent jocularity to his portrayal of Black Stache that only serves to augment the insanity of the character. Between the exuberant flamboyance, the explosive misuse of words (per-the-script, which adds to the humor of the character), and the overall command of stage presence when seizing the scene as Black Stache, McDonnel has every cast member and audient eating out of the palm of his hand. What’s even more impressive is that when he steps back into the ‘ensemble line’ he blends flawlessly, stoic and serious, utterly becalmed. The juxtaposition between his two on-stage personas is sublime. When he’s gassing on about the bond between hero and villain it’s wildly captivating to behold and his generalized persons as Black Stache will give you a bellyache from laughing so hard. Watch his antics with the trunk too and be sure to give him a hand thereafter.

The Lost Boys— Prentiss (Phoebe Bell), Teddy (Maxwell Wolf), and Boy/Peter (Aaron Fletcher)— had to start somewhere. And this is as much their story as Molly’s or Black Stache’s or anyone else. And it’s a riot of delight and childlike playfulness and innocence; a true theatrical gem watching this trio of engaging performers work together. Bell and Wolf spend a great deal of time arguing with Fletcher, and Wolf’s character also gets the ‘hungry-servant-trope’ splattered all over his character. ‘Pork’ and the desperation of the pineapple become callback gags that Wolf delivers divinely throughout the performance while Bell’s Prentiss is moody, tudey, and downright fussy, especially when it comes to being ‘the leader.’ It’s difficult to accurately describe the embellished sense of camaraderie; they could be related to one another— like fraternal triplets— that’s how well they get on and nitpick fight with one another. Bell and Wolf in particular have this unwritten comedic understanding that enhances their respective character’s timed deliveries of humorous moments too; the trio is just remarkable.

Fletcher, who is sometimes of the trio and sometimes pouting on his own, does an astonishing job of encapsulating the very essence of a boy who has yet to grow up. He’s quick and clever, nimble of movement and of textual delivery; it’s just an all-round excellent performance from Fletcher in this role that he wears like a second skin. And his moment of discovering sun, light, and air once free on the island is really touching and quite beautiful. His interactions with Gertner’s Molly are almost textbook J.M. Barrie; the way people expect Peter and Wendy to interact— even though Molly is not Wendy at all and Boy is not yet Peter.

The production is stelliferous; each of the 13 a radiant, sparkling, celestial talent that brings this performance of Peter & The Starcatcher to the next level; don’t miss your chance to see a rarely produced theatrical gem. It’s potent and poignant, humorous and heartfelt; very much what one needs to enjoy this 2025 summer.  

Running Time: Approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission

Peter & The Starcatcher plays through August 3^rd 2025 with Cockpit in Court in the F. Scott Black Theatre of The Robert and Eleanor Romadka College Center at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex Campus— 7201 Rossville Boulevard, Essex MD. For tickets call the box office at (443) 840-2787 or purchase them in advance online.