Review (Kid +1): Peter Pan in Wonderland (Ross Petty Productions)

Peter Pan in Wonderland

Ross Petty’s Peter Pan is Outstanding Holiday Theatre

Playing at Toronto’s brightly lit Elgin Theatre, Peter Pan in Wonderland is a wacky tale in which the good folks from Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland team up against the conniving Captain Hook.

In this Toronto-specific sequel to Peter Pan, Wendy (Steffi DiDomenicantonio) falls down the rabbit hole from her high-rise condo. Once I saw other disappearing acts in the rabbit hole such as Target, the Leafs, and Stephen Harper, I figured that this family musical would be just as entertaining for grownups as for kids.

Peter Pan (Anthony MacPherson) arrives and must save Wendy with the help of the fairy-godmotherish Tinkerbum (Dan Chameroy). Tinkerbum is filling in for Tinkerbell and proves to be an awkward, endearing, scaredy-cat of an assistant.

Peter, Wendy and Tinkerbum get help from dancing teammates Alice (Jordan Clark), the Mad Hatter (Lamar Johnson) and the Cheshire Cat (Taveeta Szymanowicz) who must all battle the evil Captain Hook (Ross Petty). Captain Hook has a villainous plan to grab the locket from the Queen of Hearts (Lindsay Croxall) which is basically the key to imagination and joy.

Both of my young theatre companions had the same favourite character. To my surprise, it was the crocodile. This pirate-chasing crocodile was a rapping reptile with a big C on his chest. Hats off to set and costume designer Michael Gianfrancesco for the green, glittery, urban look.  For me, another example of striking fairy tale wear was the red gown worn by the Queen of Hearts. With her stiff red hair and red tights, her look was “eye-popping” according to my friend.

The actors performed with generosity, passion and stamina. The loudest laughs arose from Tinkerbum’s mishaps, and the best dance scene, in my opinion, was performed to the tune of Don’t Believe Me Just Watch by Johnson, Clark and Szymanowicz. You can check out some of their moves on the Ross Petty Facebook page. Another highlight was the incredible rope-jumping by the Energizer bunny MacPherson during the Peter Pan Am Games (hee hee). Who knew Peter Pan knew his way around a skipping rope?

All in all, Peter Pan in Wonderland is a hilarious, stunning, must-see family-friendly musical that gets chuckles from parents (even Justin Trudeau’s hair gets attention), laughter from the kids (especially when Tinkerbum crash-lands), and boos from everybody (when Hook is in action).

The only thing I didn’t like was all the commercials promoting their corporate sponsors. We were subjected to many ads — for the Hilton Hotel, Toronto Star, Billy Bishop airport — that were ineffectively woven into the already confusing plot. Once we got into the promotion of CIBC by Tinkerbum, it was a bit too much for me.

Details:

  • Peter Pan in Wonderland is playing at the Elgin Theatre (189 Yonge Street) until January 3, 2016
  • Most evening performances begin at 7 PM and matinees at 2 PM
  • Ticket prices range from $27-$99 for adults; $27-$69 for children under 12; $256for a family 4-pack
  • Tickets can be purchased online at www.rosspetty.com by phone at 1.855.599.9090 or in person at the box office
  • For group discounts call THE Group Tix Company at 647.438.5559 or toll-free at 1.866.447.7849
  • For more information please visit www.rosspetty.com

Photo taken from Facebook page