Neverland

This past weekend the Woodstock community was treated to a grand production of Neverland, also known as Peter Pan. With a cast and crew that included students from elementary to high school, student director Shubhashish Bhutiani pulled together a wonderful retelling of this timeless story about childhood and growing up.

The part of Peter Pan was played with enthusiasm by Yeshe Rapton. She captured the free spirit of the forever-little-boy to the great pleasure of the audience. The bookends to this play are in the Darling household. The Darling children, Wendy, John and Michael were played with aplomb by Kritika Deb, Coleman Thomas and Sanskar Bhatacharrya. Ably filling out the family were Caitlin Eby-McKenzie as Mary Darling, Kabir Sarkar Ali as George Darling, Pritha Rajoura as their maid, Liza, and, of course, not to be forgotten, Taj Sangha as their faithful dog-nurse, Nana.

Neverland, where most of the story takes place, was a fantastical world with pirates, braves, lost boys and mermaids. Raag Sethi as Capt. James Hook menaced friend and foe alike, driven by his blood lust for Peter Pan. His pirate sidekick, Mr. Smee played by Atirav Gupta, provided a humorous counterpoint to Hook's venomous rage. Pema Rapton as Tiger Lily led the braves courageously against the pirate hoard. The mermaids with their sparkling tails were even spotted briefly by an enchanted Wendy. The lost boys, a band of seven boys who fell out of their prams and were brought to Neverland, were both funny and poignant as they discussed their mothers. Slightly, played by Sahil Jain, was certain his mother loved him best because she left his name embroidered on his pinafore - Slightly Soiled.

While the tale of Peter Pan is filled with adventure and fun, the back drop to this story is the exploration of what it means to grow up. The tension between Wendy, who comes to Neverland to be mother to the lost boys, and Peter, who sees himself as one of her sons, not the father she wishes him to be, was played out confidently by these two young actors. Other tender moments were played out with care and believability such as the loving interactions between Mrs. Darling and her children as well as Mr. and Mrs. Darling's deep grief at believing they had lost them.

Also to be commended are the AV and stage crews who made Peter and Wendy fly, built a pirate ship and created the appropriate moods throughout with their great use of lighting and sound. Finally, no production of Peter Pan is complete without Tinkerbell; her fairy light and bell were animated by Siddhant Lall.

In the words of the director, ".most importantly, [this production] has showed me the wonders of teamwork and how each person is a part of the puzzle - without each person, the play cannot be complete." Shubhashish and his cast and crew are to be commended for pulling together as a team to create a great production and a wonderful evening of entertainment.

On a final note, as part of this fine event, Shubhashish organized a number of students who spent late evenings baking goodies to sell at intermission and after each show to raise money for FIRS orphanage in Mussoorie. Student artists also donated pieces to sell. By the end, every last baked item was sold as well as many art pieces and about 20,000 rupees were raised to help the children of FIRS.

For a PDF copy of the Playbill including the Director's Note and the full list of cast and crew, click here.