(Media release from the Rome High School Theatre Department):
The Rome High Theatre Department invites sea dogs and landlubbers alike to their season opener, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, October 29 & 30. This touching and rib-tickling tale is a prequel to the story of Peter Pan, telling the story of how a lonely orphan became The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. The cast of 24 Rome High students will take audiences on a magical sea-faring adventure to protect a steamer trunk full of a mysterious substance called “starstuff” from pirates! Along the way, they’ll meet Molly, a young Starcatcher-in-training, and the most fearsome – and flamboyant – pirate on the seas, Black Stache, who will eventually become Captain Hook.
The play is told in story-theater style, meaning that there are no extravagant sets or props. Instead, the actors use everyday objects – and themselves – to create scenery and bring Neverland to life in imaginative and unexpected ways.
The show, written by Rick Elice and based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, opened on Broadway in 2012 to rave reviews, garnering nine Tony nominations, including Best Play, and winning five. The Rome High troupe, directed by Rome High Theatre teacher Alexis Tyson, will present an abridged version of the play which they prepared for One Act Competition.
The production is sponsored in part by a grant from the Rome Area Council for the Arts, and is presented by special arrangement with Music Theatre International.
Showtimes for PETER AND THE STARCATCHER are Saturday, October 29 at 2:00PM and 7:00PM, and Sunday, October 30 at 2:00PM in the Rome High School Performing Arts Center, located at 1000 Veterans Memorial Highway in Rome. Tickets are $5 for students and staff, and $10 for all others, and will be available (cash only) at the door. All ticket sales directly support the productions and programming of the RHS Theatre Department, which is primarily self-funded.
For more information on RHS Theatre events, visit the RHS Theatre Facebook page, @rhstheatredept.
Black Stache (Isaac Parker) and his band of pirates attempt to persuade Lord Aster (Liam Samples) to give up the treasure in Rome High’s production of “Peter and the Starcatcher” running October 29-30 in the Performing Arts Center at Rome High School. (Photo courtesy of Rome High Theatre Department)