Come one, come all to Hartsbrook High School’s production of Peter Pan! Production is well underway and students have been busy in recent weeks with rehearsals, lighting, set painting, and thoughtfully engaging and reworking the text of the 1954 musical. In addition to their hard work learning lines and songs in preparation for opening night, high school students have also been involved in conversations about the history and complexity of the play. Before February vacation, students began to learn about the strategies that various directors and actors have enlisted when working with J.M. Barrie’s original text—a text steeped in the values and assumptions of early 20thcentury England. Their conversations were supported in part by articles from Sarah Laskow writing for the Smithsonian and Adrienne Keene writing for Indian Country Today. Students will also have the opportunity to view Chimamanda Adichie’s 2009 Ted Talk “The Danger of a Single Story,” and reflect on the stories in the play, and the ones we can use this play to tell. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS Performances Arrive early or stop by at intermission to learn about the students’ process in the gallery, and enjoy the performance! CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS Advice to Parents on the Age-Appropriateness of Peter Pan Peter Pan is based on a book written in the early part of the 20th century for “children of all ages.” Act 1 is all of a domestic nature. It is a family scene that takes place in a nursery, where Peter Pan appears. There is a “fairy” character, Tinkerbell, who is mute. Intermission comes midway through Act 2. In Act 2, there are potentially sensitive areas for very young children, including “Lost Boys” who have no mothers, and pirates who have daggers and engage in sword fights. Captain Hook, leader of the pirates, has a hook for hand and yells and is mean to the other pirates, though he is defeated in the end. There is also a crocodile reputed to have bitten off Captain Hook’s arm. Parents are welcome to preview the play up to intermission by attending a dress rehearsal at 11:00 on Thursday or Friday morning, 3/15 or 3/16. The director feels her staging is appropriate for Kindergarten-age children. Parents of the very young child may choose to attend only Act 1.