A male actor playing Peter Pan? A Wendy who wants to be a doctor? Dialogue in the script about junk mail and computer printers? And perhaps most notably, a Native American “tribe” depicted without red face or racist stereotypes?
Baltimore audiences are among the first in the nation to see a new stage version of “Peter Pan,” the J. M. Barrie classic that dates from 1904 and opened on Broadway in 1954 as a musical with Mary Martin in the title role and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook. Over the years, Martin was succeeded by other female Peter Pans, including Sandy Duncan and Cathy Rigby.
Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre is the first stop of a 48-week national touring production that’s based on Barrie’s story but has been revised and updated for the 21st century.
The new production, which opened on Wednesday at the Hippodrome, retains the songs that audiences love and the universal storyline about a boy who never grows up. But the script has been rewritten to bring the show into the present day and eliminate stereotypes that are insensitive and harmful, especially to Native Americans.
Earlier iterations of the musical included a song called “The Pow Wow Polka,” also known as the “Ugh a wug” song; actors in red face playing Native Americans; and other characters whose primary goal was to kill Native Americans.
The revised script was written by a Native American playwright, Larissa FastHorse. In this production, Peter Pan is portrayed by a male, Nolan Almeida. Wendy, played by African-American actress Hawa Kamara, is good at sewing like previous Wendys but wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Raye Zaragoza, a woman of Indigenous, Asian and Latina heritage, plays Tiger Lily. Cody Garcia, who is non-binary, is Captain Hook and Mr. Darling.
The Pow Wow song has been replaced by a new one called “Friends Forever.” Tiger Lily’s tribe is now multi-cultural, representing Indigenous peoples from all over, not just Native Americans. The Darling household is set in the present, with a home office for Mr. Darling in case he works remotely.
Ron Legler, president of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of the Hippodrome, said he had attempted to get the producers of “Peter Pan” to make Baltimore their try-out town when the production was announced, using a new state tax credit program established to attract touring shows and shows headed to Broadway. Instead, the producers went with St. Paul, Minnesota, for rehearsals and other preliminary activity but made Baltimore the first stop of their national tour.
Legler said he usually gets to see a show on Broadway before a national tour begins and that helps him decide whether to bring it to Baltimore, but that wasn’t possible with “Peter Pan.” He said he knew it’s the first show many people saw as a child and they have fond memories of it. “We found value in the title,” he said. “It’s a precious title.”
Legler said he wouldn’t call this a “woke” or “politically correct” production, but he does think audiences will pick up on ways that certain stereotypes and expressions have been eliminated. He calls it a “non-offensive version.”
The previous show was beloved by many but also “very dated” and “ready for a new version,” he said. “Times have changed. This is telling a story that won’t offend anyone.”
Legler said audiences will also see how recent advances in technology are incorporated to bring the show to life, especially in the way Peter and others fly across the stage and the use of LED lighting and other special effects.
“Peter Pan” runs at the Hippodrome, 12 N. Eutaw St., through Sunday, Feb. 25. Ticket information is available at Baltimore.broadway.com; by phone at 800-343-3103 on Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and in person at the Hippodrome Box Office, located at the corner of Eutaw and Baltimore streets. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on performance dates from 11 a.m. to curtain time.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the capitalization of playwright Larissa FastHorse’s last name.
