‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ flying high at Paramount’s Copley Theatre in Aurora

Paramount Theatre’s third BOLD Series season at the Copley Theatre is underway with the wildly entertaining “Peter and the Starcatcher” in Aurora. Playwright Rick Elice’s ingenious play with music is based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Dave Barry and mystery writer Ridley Pearson. But this Victorian fairy tale is a Monty Python-esque English pantomime that provides the curious backstory as to how Peter Pan came to be. And believe me, it appeals to both children and adults.

Director Nate Cohen and choreographer/assistant director Tal Schatsky are making their Paramount debuts; their production is an extremely creative and energetic staging of an engrossing adventure story fantasy. The duo note: “Imagine, for a moment, that anything is possible … While most of us grew up, moved on, and forgot, this play returns us to the lost art of childhood … "

Their collaborative team is superb in bringing the characters and setting to life: scenic design by Myra G. Reavis, costume design by Kotryna Hilko, sound design by Eric Backus (love the creaking ships and lapping waves!) and music directed and conducted by Kevin Reeks.

The cast of 16 is equally as ingenious. The production begins and ends with Peter – as it should. “When I was a boy, I wished I could fly.” He is joined on stage by the ensemble as they introduce their 1885 selves in the time of Queen Victoria (Huzzah!) and set sail on British frigates The Wasp and The Neverland. There is, of course, that mysterious cargo – a trunk to be protected.

Terry Bell’s Peter is unlike any other. Physically, he’s strong, long and lanky; portrayal-wise, he is sad, angry and mistrustful. Determined to be a boy, in a marvelous transition, he also becomes a hero. Peter is an orphan with no name and no home who’s been terribly hurt by grown-ups. “They lie to you, and then they leave.” He only remembers wisps of memories of his parents. Bell makes it all believable; yet, he has a delightful chemistry with Molly (Shelbi Voss) and fellow orphans Ted (Brandon Acosta) and Prentiss (Michaela Shapiro). He knows how to deliver emotionally. “It’s hard to hear a bedroom story when you don’t have a bed.” Quite an accomplished actor.

Shapiro plays Prentiss as vocal and insistent on being the leader of the orphans, but is humorously too cowardly; Acosta’s Ted is food-obsessed (from sticky pudding to pineapples) and is the first to recognize Molly’s importance to the boys’ life. Both are excellent colleagues for Bell.

Playwright Elice gave Molly such a persistent, brave, female character that, at times, I wondered why the play wasn’t titled “Molly the Starcatcher,” but as the play evolves, it all makes sense. Voss makes Molly her own articulate, intelligent and stubborn character. Onstage, she is a joyful presence who radiates charm, and though both Peter and Molly are said to be age 13, neither ever acts childishly. Both characters are desperate to prove themselves. Voss‘ comedic timing is especially evident as she speaks Dodo with her father, Lord Aster. Her compelling relationship with the boys is a natural extension of her apprentice Starcatcher status. (There are only six and a half on Earth.)

And let’s discuss that infamous villain known in this prequel as Black Stache, he of the impressive “face foliage,” and you know who he’s destined to be. Nick Sandys makes his Paramount debut, and his foppish character is a constant scene-stealer. He gets the most punny lines and plays Black Stache as highly intelligent, a romantic with loads of panache, a poet addicted to malapropisms and a hatred of children. Sandys is an exquisite actor.

Of course, Black Stache’s first mate is the ever-loyal Smee. As portrayed by Mark David Kaplan, Smee is faithful, sniffling and hilarious.

The entire enthusiastic ensemble is outstanding. They portray silly and bumbling marauding pirates, swashbuckling sailors and captains, mollusk islanders, mermaids, dancing fish and narrators with liberal usage to keep the story clear and moving. However, there are four actors who deserve special recognition:

Gabriel Fries as the alliteration-prone, no-nonsense nanny Mrs. Bumbrake (“button our beaks and be brave”);

Josh Bernaski’s Fighting Prawn – his Italian dialogue and former British kitchen slave tell-alls are hysterical;

Tamsen Glaser’s sweet and kind-hearted Alf, the sailor who falls for Mrs. Bumbrake;

Kevin Kantor as the regal Lord Aster, Molly’s wise father and official Starcatcher.

There are so many clever moments, contemporary comments and adroit stage craft touches on a set that sails magically with sheets, ladders and trapdoors. Even though the production is two and a half hours long, it is fast-paced and engrossing, and, by the way, the opening of act two begins with an amazing musical number, “Made a Mermaid Out of Me,” you’ll not easily forget.

Once again, the Paramount comes through with a poignant, fresh and endlessly funny production that will put stars in your eyes and take hold of your heart. Do you remember how to fly?

(An American Sign Language-interpreted performance is offered at 8 p.m. Aug. 30. The play contains adult language, fighting and discrimination toward women.)

• Regina Belt-Daniels has served on theater boards throughout Illinois, and happily has acted, produced and directed for RCLPC, TownSquare Players, Steel Beam, McHenry County College’s Black Box Theatre, Elgin Theatre Company and the Raue Center For The Arts in Crystal Lake. This is her 10th year of writing theater reviews for the Shaw Local News Network.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: “Peter and the Starcatcher”

• WHERE: Copley Theatre (across from Paramount), 8 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora

• WHEN: Wednesdays through Sundays until Sept. 1

• INFORMATION: 630-896-6666, paramountaurora.com