Sage Hill Theatre Lifts Curtain on 'Peter Pan' Prequel
Audiences might think they know the story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, but there’s a whole world to discover before Neverland.
Sage Hill’s theatre program will bring the Tony award-winning play “Peter and the Starcatcher” to the Kazu Fukuda Black Box Theater for a series of shows starting Thursday, November 7. The play written by Rick Elice is based on a novel series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
“It's a really poignant story about what it means to be a kid and growing up,” said Zabelle Martin ‘25, who stars as the play’s young heroine, Molly Aster.
Playing the role of Peter’s “opposite” requires immersing herself in the character of a woman trying to pave her way in Victorian England.
“I relate to her in a lot of ways,” Zabelle said. “It's really a joy to get to play her and reflect on that message of coming of age now as I'm about to graduate high school.”
While there is a mermaid grotto, audiences will need to imagine most of the set without fantastic murals or tall ship sails.
“You're working with everybody [in the cast] to build this thing physically and it takes on a life of its own,” actress Margot Siemon ‘27 said. “[The cast] are barely leaving the stage. You're constantly on stage.”
Despite being in his first semester of high school, Seth Weerasuriya ‘28 has taken on the lead role of Peter. Theater program director Mary Kildare was familiar with Seth’s outstanding stage presence even before he enrolled at Sage Hill. As a seventh grader, Seth quickly found he had a passion for acting.
“I actually never saw Peter Pan as a kid so it’s kind of fun to discover a new character that has been so popular,” Seth said.
The production includes choreography by dance teacher Taleen Shrikian ‘11 and stage management by Claire Sueyoshi ‘25. Tickets can be purchased here.
Fall Play Showtimes:
Thursday, November 7 at 6:00 PM
Friday, November 8 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, November 9 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Sage Hill School
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.