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Peter Pan flies into TBT this weekend

Courtesy Photo Peter Pan and the Lost Boys rehearsing a number for the show, which opens Friday at Thunder Bay Theatre. Pictured, from left, are, Farrell Tatum, Austin Heath, Cameron Meicher, Lucas Moquin, Collin Heath and Joey Lanier at front right. Ashley Cotton is Peter Pan in the center.

It’s the time of year to bust out the green tights and sing along to your favorite tunes.

Destination: Neverland.

Peter Pan opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, presented by Alpena High School Masquers Club, in association with Thunder Bay Theatre.

“So we all know the Disney movie, but the Broadway musical is much different,” said Molly Stricker, managing director of Thunder Bay Theatre, and director of Peter Pan. “It’s still the same story, but the songs are very different.”

The characters are the same, but creative adjustments to the set have been made for TBT’s smaller stage. There will be no flying rigs. Instead, some of the scenes will take place on the roof of the Darling home.

“We’re also using a lot of puppetry, which is really fun,” Stricker said. “So all of our animals are puppets, and Tinkerbell is a puppet.”

“Conceptually, the show is set the entire time in the Darlings’ nursery,” she explained. “So it’s more imaginative than the normal Broadway musical is. They’re playing a game of make-believe, and basically transforming their room into Neverland instead of traveling to another place.”

As far as the cast goes, “Almost all of them are Alpena High School students,” Stricker said. “We have a couple from the junior high, and a couple who are home schooled.”

Professional actors Farrell Tatum and Lucas Moquin will play Mr. and Mrs. Darling, and TBT Producing Artistic Director Jeffrey Mindock will play Captain Hook.

Ashley Cotton will play Peter Pan, Isabel Luther will be Wendy, Olivia Gerhart is John, Phineas Imhoff is Michael, Dani Losinski is Liza, Brutus Mindock is Nana, Thomas Jore is Smee, Olivia Losinski is Tiger Lily, Paige Mindock is Grown Up Wendy, Amelia Berles is Jane, Natalie Dozier and Amelia Berles are lead puppeteers, Iven Brown is the crocodile puppeteer, Lexie Lino is Tinkerbell’s puppeteer, and Jenna Peterson, Iven Brown, Angelina Burcar, Quinlynn Hoffman and Logan DenBleyker will play pirates and Indians. Lost Boys are Joey Lanier, Lucas Moquin, Farrell Tatum, Austin Heath, Cameron Meicher and Collin Heath.

TBT staff advises Masquers Club at the high school.

“They work so hard,” Stricker said. “It’s really cool to see high school kids coming here and spending all of their free time here.”

She said it takes her back to her own high school days, and even before that.

“This show holds a special place in my heart for a couple of reasons,” said Stricker, who attended Alpena High School. “The first show I was ever in, I played Peter Pan, in fifth grade. That was really special for me. Obviously, that’s what sparked my love of theater.”

This will be Stricker’s second time directing a TBT production.

“Ashley is actually wearing my hat in the show,” she noted, referring to the same hat she wore in fifth grade.

“It’s the perfect show, and it’s the perfect cast, and it’s been really magical, actually, for this to be such a full-circle experience for me,” Stricker said.

The show starts Friday through Dec. 9, with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday.

For tickets, call 989-354-2267.

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