VALDOSTA — Patrick Leonard checks the line connected to a harness hidden within Hannah Trowell’s Peter Pan costume.
Parent stagehands manipulate a series of pulleys and cables backstage. Hannah rises above the costumed pirates massed on The Dosta Playhouse stage. Leonard is a Las Vegas-based flying director with Flying by Foy. He steadies the line lifting Hannah by holding her foot.
Leonard steps away. Hannah extends her legs. She stretches out one arm. The other arm lifts a sword. Captain Hook and the pirates cower below.
Peter Pan flies.
Valdosta audiences have the opportunity to see Peter, Wendy, John and Michael fly this week as the Gingerbread Players and Theatre Guild Valdosta transform their Downtown Valdosta stage into a musical Neverland for the three weekend run of “Peter Pan.”
Flight is an important part of Peter Pan, the character and the show. The Gingerbread Players wanted to do it right. They contacted Flying by Foy, which has been making Peter Pan fly since the days of Mary Martin.
Leonard criss-crosses the country, often helping community theatres take flight in productions of “Peter Pan,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and any number of other productions where flight is essential to the plot and spectacle.
Leonard arrived last Thursday in Valdosta. He spent the weekend and the early part of this week training the young actors to use the harness and wires. He also trained parent helpers and show directors to use the cables behind the scenes to lift the characters into flight. These principal youngsters added the balance of flight and tight harnesses to a rigorous performance of numerous lines and singing several songs.
As a Gingerbread Player production, this show features several area children. Partnered with Theatre Guild Valdosta, it features adult performers playing the pirates and some other roles. “Peter Pan” is this season’s Guild musical, too.
The cast has been rehearsing the past several weeks under the primary direction of Lynnette Kenworthy and Pauline Player. Down to the last few rehearsals, cast and crew are ready for audiences to believe.
THE CAST: Hannah Trowell, Claire Kirkpatrick, Samantha McLendon, Billy McLendon, Katelynn Kenworthy, Alexandra Beall, Joey Delk, Blake Fountain, Auburn Allen, Morgan Coleman, Kellie Thomason, Morgan Jones, Jennifer Lee, Parker Albritton, Jinjer Hammond, Joshua Barcol, Sommers Coleman, Leah Queen, Laine Fletcher, Crystal Banks, Hannah Moody, Casey Van Nortwick, Haley Aguero, Kara Nelson, Kennedy Broomberg, Kimsey Aguero, Jamie Bullard, Michael Barlow, Brandon Bush, Fred Stikkel, Will Lewis.
PRODUCTION & CREW includes Suzanne Chafin, music director; Brooke Butler, choreographer; Ben McLendon; Sarah Allison, stage manager; Alexandra Scott, stage manager; Jessica McKay, lights; Jessica Gaines, stage crew; Charlesie Hammond, costume assistant.
SHOWTIME
Gingerbread Players and Theatre Guild Valdosta present the musical “Peter Pan.”
When: 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 7 p.m., March 19-21; 2:30 p.m., March 22; 7 p.m., March 27, 28; 2:30 p.m., March 29.
Where: The Dosta Playhouse, 122 N. Ashley St.
Ticket:
$15.
Reservations, information:
Call 24-STAGE.
Local News
Related Photos
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Peter Pan, played by Hannah Trowell, puts Captain Hook, played by Joey Delk, and the pirates on the defensive, in Gingerbread Players/Theatre Guild Valdosta’s ‘Peter Pan’ opening this week.
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Liza, played by Katelynn Kenworthy, soars above the animals, played by Kellie Thomason, Morgan Jones, Jennifer Lee, in Gingerbread Players/Theatre Guild Valdosta’s ‘Peter Pan’ opening this week.
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Peter Pan, center, played by Hannah Trowell, wrestles with the Lost Boys, played by Parker Albritton, Jinjer Hammond, Joshua Barcol, Sommers Coleman, Leah Queen, Laine Fletcher.
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