To borrow the words of Adam Sklute, Ballet West’s artistic director, Trey McIntyre’s Peter Pan becomes “almost a living pop-up book.” The company’s Utah premiere of this 2002 evening-length ballet affirmed these words, with sensational and touching impact in every facet of the production. It was a toy treasure chest: Wiliam Lynch’s raw charisma and feral movements as Peter Pan; Jenna Rae Herrera’s poised determination and her own sense of weightlessness as Wendy; the mid-air tumbles and somersaults, twists and leaps in the flight choreography; the emotional contours of the music, featuring intense yet utterly translucent solos by concertmaster Aubrey Woods in the Ballet West Orchestra and even the crocodile, an ingenious contraption, part puppet and part dancer (who wears a green unitard).
In three acts, McIntyre’s Peter Pan keeps the story arc fluid and smooth. The running time, including two intermissions came in just under two hours and a quarter— perfect for kids and adults. Meanwhile, the choreography does not shortchange the narrative dynamics of J.M. Barrie’s 1911 novel. McIntyre effectively lifts the story from mawkish Edwardian sentimentality into a timeless reflection upon the bittersweet realities of growing up while trying to hold onto the nostalgia of childhood and the inescapable confrontation with time and mortality.
In the current season of ballets with popular sources of iconic literature, Ballet West dancers have mastered finessing the balance of capturing the theatrical emotions of their role while emphasizing their impressive command of ballet technique and movement language.
The most prominent differences in McIntyre’s rendering of the Barrie novel include Tinkerbell’s altered and somewhat diminished role and the addition of James, Captain Hook’s son. In the first act, how the Lost Boys discover their way to Neverland is subtly foreshadowed. McIntyre suggests Peter is Wendy’s brother. A restless child rolls out of his baby carriage, is swept offstage with a broom, left unclaimed and then sent to Neverland.
The production is infused throughout with a light, airy feeling. As Tinkerbell, the avatar of faith in nature, Rylee Ann Rogers is ethereal as she zips and flutters on and above the stage, but without the frenetic feral tone of Peter Pan’s movements. The consistently fluid cadence established throughout the ballet is reinforced by fairies as well as the mermaids (Lillian Casscells, Nicole Fanney and Claire Spainhour),who express themselves through arabesques, couru running steps, pirouettes and chainés. Even in their exuberance, the Lost Boys, comprising dancers from Ballet West II, Ballet West Academy and Ballet West Trainees, sustain the fluid coherence and cadences which animate the story flow.
As the children of the Darling family, Herrera as Wendy, along with Michael (James Jobson-Larkin) and John (Jacob Hancock) vividly demonstrate the urge to separate themselves from their parents through movement that flows much more naturally than their parents. The contrast is completed, as the parents (Emily Adams and Hadriel Diniz) deliberately perform the waltzes like robotic living marionettes.
Tyler Gum makes for one of the greatest villains as Captain Hook, nasty but also impeccably elegant (in the play version of the story, Barrie indicated that Hook went to Eton, the British school which exemplified the sobering coming-of-age culture of authority and discipline cultivated through etiquette and manners). The addition of James, Hook’s son (Jonas Malinka-Thompson) is spot on for this rendering.
The second unseen villain, of course, is time. The irony is transported when the crocodile swallows the ticking clock, which is a damn good metaphor for Hook’s inevitable mortality. In the crocodile, the dancer moves the hind legs while the front two legs and tail move automatically as the dancer crosses the space. The dancer also manipulates the jaws in the puppet.
Two types of equipment are incorporated for the spectacular flight choreography. As Peter, Lynch’s harness is connected to a bungee cord which allows him to maintain control in somersaults and flips, but the bungee is also attached to a computer-programmed grid which allows him to be lifted to various heights and be carried laterally across the stage. Meanwhile, the three Darling children wear harnesses which connect to a single wire from the back of their necks and from backstage, technical crew members work with each dancer using counter-weight elements and crew members are assigned to control, respectively, their vertical and lateral movements. All of it seemed effortless.
Enhancing the light, fluid nature of the production is the superb performance of the Ballet West Orchestra, conducted by Jared Oaks. The score, arranged by Niel DePonte, incorporates excerpts from numerous pieces by Elgar, who was a contemporary of Barrie. This includes Wand of Youth, Suites 1 & 2 for the opening scenes of the first act, In the South Overture when Peter vanquishes Captain Hook in the third act, as well as excerpts from Elgar’s Symphony No. 1, The Sanguine Fan (which was a single act ballet and nearly forgotten), Dream Children, Falstaff, From the Bavarian Highlands and the lesser known section of the first Pomp and Circumstance March.
DePonte’s wise arrangement awakens us to realizing that Elgar was not stereotypically as English as we might assume. Far from the music being heavy, formalistic or indulgently larded, the Peter Pan score rises and falls in the emotions as they are shaped by the passage of time. The score accentuates the arc of thematic ideas— the sensations of being abandoned, grasping forever the sunshine of childhood and experiencing the sadness of choosing not to grow up. Among the most poignant moments come when Wendy returns from Neverland. She is filled with the magical memories of childhood adventures, but she fully acknowledges time’s inevitable call to accept the obligation of growing up.
When it comes to magical productions, Ballet West long ago proved its expertise, with the living historic landmark of its production of The Nutcracker. With McIntyre’s Peter Pan, Ballet West takes us through the magic into appreciating that becoming an adult does not mean we have to abandon the stories that inspired our own imaginations as children, but that we now have the capacity to see them clearly as guideposts for the rest of our lives.
Four performances remain Feb. 19-21. For tickets and more information, see the Ballet West website.