Adrienne Walters was “powerful and astoundingly funny” in the 2014-15 TheatreWorks production of “Peter and the Starcatcher,” as I wrote in my review, and it is a huge thrill that she is doing the show again, this time at Hillbarn Theatre.
She is again playing Molly, a precocious, upper-class British girl, who takes charge of a band of lost boys, including the one who will become Peter Pan.
Among the many wonderful things she does in the role — in addition to climbing ship’s ratlines and diving into the ocean to save people — she speaks in Dodo and Norse Code.
Trust me: This is very, very funny stuff. And part of what makes it work is that Walters keeps a straight face while doing completely silly things. She is wonderful in the role.
And what did she do after that wonderful show closed?
“I spent the summer excavating in Italy and Poland,” Walters said during a recent phone interview. “At Pompei, and in a small, medieval town in Poland.
“It’s a unique experience,” she said, “to get to see something that hasn’t seen the light of day in years.”
Centuries in fact — Walters found an urn of cremated ashes in Pompeii that dates back to before the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79.
“It was the experience of a lifetime,” she said. “Not many people get to dig through ancient Pompeii.”
It was performing in “Peter and the Starcatcher” at TheatreWorks that “kind of motivated me to go back to school,” she said.
She has graduated from San Francisco State after studying anthropology and the classics, and is thinking about going to grad school, to study either theater or anthropology.
“They are similar to each other,” Walters said. “They both study human nature. That is a major appeal to me.”
At TheatreWorks, Walters was directed by Robert Kelley, the legendary founder of that company. At Hillbarn, which is much smaller but that has a well-earned reputation for staging excellent shows, she is being directed by Jeffrey Lo. Who is casting associate at TheatreWorks.
It’s Lo’s first time at Hillbarn, and he has put in a lot of effort “to make sure that our production has its own unique touch to it.”
At TheatreWorks, Joe Ragey’s set was all about nautical influences, with telescopes and rigging on the walls and stage.
At Hillbarn, scenic designer Christopher Flitzer and Lo “had this really great idea, said Hillbarn Managing Artistic Director Dan Demers. “They wanted to make a very unique look, and latched on to that troupe feeling by creating this late 1980s, 1990s playground … these are a bunch of kids coming together to put on a show. It’s beautiful, gorgeous, with multiple levels, wonky staircases and other fun stuff.”
Demers — a very talented director himself — is the guy who hired Lo to direct this show, and is also in the cast, playing Smee the pirate, and a few other parts.
“I had a long conversation with Jeffrey,” he said, and “told him I’m here to help as much as I can … I don’t want you to feel that you can’t call me on the carpet when needed.”
Smee “is a wildly fun character,” said Demers. “It’s a unique experience to play a comedic sidekick who is also a villain … it has its own set of challenges and rewards. There are these beautiful lines in there, and to think about what he’s trying to do — he’s really evil, but really funny. He has this unique, unhealthy relationship with Stache.”
Stache being Black Stache, the bad guy, who is destined to become Captain Hook. In most productions of this show, Black Stache has, perhaps, the funniest single bit. About which we say no more here. In this production, Black Stache is played by Will Springhorn Jr.
This show is Walters’ first time at Hillbarn, and the first time she got to meet Demers. “It’s really fun to be able to work with him,” she said. “He’s hilarious as Smee. It’s been a wonderful experience.”
Walters, said Demers, is “phenomenal, a phenomenal actress. She has these beautiful, subtle moments she takes and just extrapolates on them. It’s a powerful experience to be on stage with her. Her Molly is brilliant — it’s hard to have to look at her and throw a monkey wrench to try to ruin her place. She’s just so precocious. …
“The cast as a whole is so amazing, and humbling,” said Demers. “To meet some of these people I hadn’t met before. Phenomenal people who are dedicated to being present in their roles.”
“Peter and the Starcatcher” is based on the book by novelists Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, with book for the stage written by Rick Elice.
It is the story of a young orphan and his mates who are shipped off from Victorian England to an island, where they might become slaves or dinner. There is a trunk in the captain’s cabin that may contain something precious. And there is another ship, and another trunk. Molly is the daughter of the man who is trying to deliver the goods.
Much confusion, adventure and hilarity ensue.
Theater
What: “Peter and the Starcatcher”
Directed by: Jeffrey Lo
Featuring: Tasi Alabastro, Lawrence Michael C. Arias, David Blackburn, Nicole Apostol Bruno, Dan Demers, Wes Gabrillo, Sean
Okuniewicz, Heather Orth, Drew Reitz, Evan Schumacher, Scott Solomon, Will Springhorn Jr. and Adrienne Walters.
Where: Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City
When: January 18 through Feb. 4, 2018
Tickets: $28–$52; 650-349-6411, ext. 2, or www.hillbarntheatre.org.
