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Actors get to fly on Kenston stage
(by Sue Hoffman - April 14, 2010)
Actors get to fly on Kenston stage
By SUE HOFFMAN
Sophomore Christian Carter has been flying high in his upcoming lead role on the Kenston High School stage.
As a newcomer to Kenston Center Stage, the school's performing group, Christian said he never expected to be chosen for the title role in "Peter Pan," which opens at 7 p.m. Friday (April 16) and continues through the weekend.
"I came here not thinking I'd be doing this," he said about his role. "It's been a really great experience. Up there, I feel like Peter Pan."
Christian has also been swept off his feet in the literal sense. At a spring-break rehearsal, he was hooked up to a harness to get ready for his flying scenes. Hoisted up in the air several feet, he stretched out his hands and feet ready for flight, again and again.
"It takes awhile to get used to," said Christian, a member of the Kenston varsity swimming and cross-country teams and Solon Stars Swim Club. "It was better today than yesterday."
He will wear his harness under his Peter Pan costume throughout the play. "You get used to walking and doing everything with the harness on," he said.
Juniors Connie Huff and Jack Burg and freshman Cory Berry also rehearsed their scenes in the air.
"It's a totally new experience," said Connie, who plays Wendy.
All veterans of the Kenston stage, Connie, Jack and Cory play the Darling children, who go with Peter to Neverland.
Connie said her role as Wendy is perfect casting, as her friends often look to her for advice. "A lot of my friends call me 'mother.' It's funny I got this role. It's a good match."
"I'm the opposite of Michael," said Cory, who plays the little brother on stage. "Michael is spoiled and complains a lot." That's the fun, he said.
Jack said he enjoys playing John, the older brother. "I'm an experienced older brother," he quipped.
For the entire cast, the story of Peter Pan, the boy who never wants to grow up, is a perennial favorite. With the popularity of the stage productions and Walt Disney, Mary Martin and more recent Jeremy Sumpter movie versions, the cast is exuberant.
Christian said, when he's performing as Peter Pan, it helps "to bring a little of your own character into the play." However, he added, "No one person is going to carry the performance. It's really a group effort."
Director Steve Hoffman said the family-friendly musical brings 40 students to the footlights and showcases the technology available in the Kenston High School auditorium.
Kenston's auditorium was built with a 30-foot fly space just beyond the proscenium that creates a peak at the front of the school.
Fly by Foy, a firm in Las Vegas, installed the flying equipment and taught actors and parent volunteers how to use it, Mr. Hoffman said. "The equipment is all tested and safety certified."
Aside from the thrill of the flying scenes, the show will be enhanced by an unusual set, he said. "How do you stage a show that was staged a thousand times before? We're doing an impressionistic and minimalist presentation. The audience's imagination will fill it in."
For example, platforms on stage serve multi-functions, including beds and tunnels. "The different decks give us a number of levels to stage things," Mr. Hoffman said. The addition of some furniture, foliage or sea scenery will transform the stage from the Darling family's Victorian house to Neverland and the pirate ship.
The story and music add up to top entertainment. The book "Peter Pan," by J.M. Barrie, is considered "a great work of literature," Mr. Hoffman said. "It's also one of the first stories that combines the fantasy and adventure that we're used to seeing today in movies such as 'Avatar.'"
The musical adaptation, which opened with Mary Martin and Cyril Richard in the 1954 Broadway production, boasts such tuneful hits as "I Won't Grow Up" and "Wendy."
"Oh, My Mysterious Lady," is sung by Captain Hook, played by junior Mathias Treu.
Tickets are available at the box office, which opens an hour before show time. The show plays at 7 p.m. April 16 and 17 and 2 p.m. April 18. The cost at the door is $13 for reserved seats and $8 for general seating.
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