This Friday and Saturday, Marblehead High School’s Drama Club performed Peter/Wendy, an adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan written by Jeremy Bloom. Bloom’s interpretation explores some of the darker themes of the original story of Peter Pan while staying true to the well-known plot.
In February, the MHS Drama Club will take Peter/Wendy to Dramafest. Every year, the Massachusetts Educational Theater Guild brings the performing arts departments from high schools all over Massachusetts together to perform forty-minute long plays. Each round of the competition hosts a different number of schools to spend an entire Saturday performing, and the top plays move on. This weekend’s performance of Peter/Wendy gave the cast and crew an opportunity to present the play to an audience prior to bringing it to Dramafest.
Through creative manipulations of tech and acting, the cast and crew of Peter/Wendy brought the whimsical magic of Peter Pan to life. In order to capture the essence of Neverland, actors rehearsed fight and flight. Choreographer Maia Williamson was tasked with teaching Peter (Will Ricker), Wendy (Lily Morgan), and Tinker Bell (Lola Williamson) how to fly, which she accomplished by drawing inspiration from the Frantic Assembly theater company’s instructional flight-videos. Characters Hook (Dan Howells), Smee (Ian Wanger), and Peter learned and rehearsed an intricate sword fight, with ensemble members stage-fighting in the background. The creative visions of director Ashley Skeffington enhanced the story of Peter Pan and made for a captivating performance.