Grace Cavanaugh, Staff Writer~
From October 18th-21st, the Theatre Department of the University of Lynchburg will be putting on Peter and the Starcatcher, a play prequel to Peter Pan. Jeff Wittman, the Professor and Chair of Theatre, said, “The premise of the play is what happens before Peter Pan; it’s the prequel to Peter Pan.”
Tickets are available for pre-purchase at the Box Office in Dillard Lobby from 1:00-4:00 P.M. on weekdays beginning on Monday, October 15 and 45 minutes before curtain time at each show.
“You can always buy at the door,” said Sami Topping, “I don’t think it’ll be a problem with this show, buying at the door. Into the Woods was our last mainstage show, and every single night we did sell out with pre-sales and online tickets, so people who did show up, a lot of people were turned away. I recommend buying online…at etix.com if you look up the University of Lynchburg.”
Topping, who will be playing the parts of Smee, Alph, and Lieutenant Greggors, said that tickets to the show are, “$15 for adults, $10 for seniors, and that is I believe over 60, and $5 for students, and that is any student in any capacity anywhere, whether that’s University of Lynchburg, another University, or kindergarten, high school, any student’s $5. Faculty’s also $5.”
According to Topping, “I think the show’s always the best on Friday night, because we already have one show under our belt, we’re not tired of it yet, and we’re all just excited to perform still. This is a very well-rehearsed show, because we’re using something called devised theater, which means a lot of it is kind-of choreographed even if it’s a scene without music, it’s choreographed. We’ve been doing this since…early September, end of August.”
Elizabeth Martin, who is playing the part of Prentiss, said, “It is really cool. It’s basically a series of platforms and ramps that shifts throughout the show, and it, like, presents different kinds of sets. Like, at one point it’s a ship and at one point it’s part of the jungle, but it’s only three actual set pieces that just get turned into different things, so it’s pretty cool.”
Martin continued, “This is the first time I’ve been in a comedy, so it’s definitely a different experience, but it’s a lot of fun, a lot of laughing but also kind-of serious because we want to get stuff done.”
“I’m very excited about the show,” said Topping. “I’m very excited to share this story with other people because I feel like a lot of people have a lot of preconceived notions about Peter Pan and think they know the story, and this just totally flips everything on its head.” Martin added, “It’s going to be a really good show, come see it! Support the Theatre Department!”
To watch an interview with Jeff Wittman, the Director of Peter and the Starcatcher, and Chris Otwell, the Designer and Technical Director, visit the University of Lynchburg Theatre Department’s Facebook (link: https://www.facebook.com/lctheatre/videos/252637695456008/).
Performances start at 7:30pm on October 18th-20th, and 2pm on October 21st.