A New 'Peter Pan' for the 21st Century

No GPS is needed to get to Neverland. Directions for the nighttime escapade -- aided by fairy dust -- is still “Second to the right, and straight on till morning,” except now the Darling household where Peter Pan swoops in to see Wendy is in present-day, middle-class America, not Victorian England.

The revival of Broadway’s “Peter Pan,” boasting numerous changes for 21st century audiences, will be in Miami at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts May 7 – 12, with two special family nights at the beginning of the run.  

For those old enough to remember the original, the rivalry between Pan and Captain Hook is still running hot and Tinker Bell is still a trusted and loyal fairy friend, but the leader of the lost boys is played by a real boy this time.

That’s right. Gone are the days when a petite, adult woman with short, blond hair is cast as Peter Pan (Mary Martin 1954, Sandy Duncan 1979, Cathy Rigby 1990).  Mary Martin was actually 41 when she portrayed Pan on stage for the first time. Now the touring production about a boy who refuses to grow up stars 16-year-old Nolan Almeida, along with a multicultural cast that features Hawa Kamara as Wendy and Cody Garcia as Captain Hook.

Emmy Award winning director Lonny Price says he’s not sure why adult women have always been chosen to play Pan, but he surmises one reason is connected to the system of ropes, pulleys and counterweights used to help actors “fly” across the stage.

“Some of it is the flying, you have to be under a certain weight … also it’s a huge role and they were afraid maybe of entrusting it to a young man.”

But Price counters that, “Kids are very aware of gender these days,” so he and the production team felt it made more sense to cast a teenage boy.

“Surprisingly, it’s a surprise a boy playing a boy,” Price said with a chuckle.

Those are not the only changes.

Native American Characters

There were references in earlier versions of the show to “redskins” and a musical number called “Ugg-A-Wugg.”

Playwright and Native American Larissa FastHorse, who made history on Broadway in 2023 with her satirical comedy “The Thanksgiving Play,” came onboard to modernize the story, and particularly the depictions of indigenous people. Needless to say, “Ugg-A-Wugg” has been cut.

FastHorse also eloquently expanded the concept of Native in the musical’s Neverland to encompass several members of threatened Indigenous communities worldwide who have settled in Neverland to preserve their culture until these “lost tribes” can find a way back.

The first Indigenous artist to revise this story, FastHorse even deepened the characters of Tiger Lily and Wendy, who now both get to sing, dance and fight back, giving these two female characters much more depth, according to Price.

Making the cast look more like America was also intentional because “I want every child in this nation to look out their window of the national tour, to look out the window and believe Peter can fly by their window,” FastHorse was quoted as saying to the Associated Press.

New Music

Iconic and timeless songs like “I’m Flying,” “I Gotta Crow,” “I Won’t Grow Up,” and “Neverland” remain ready to transport you to a world of wonder and magical moments, but some new songs are also on the horizon.

Among the original creators’ papers, Price found a song called “When I Went Home,” which tells of a time when Peter returned home and found his window barred and another kid sleeping in his bed. Martin requested that it be cut before the 1954 premiere, fearing it was too sad. Price put it back in because he thought it was moving, not scarry.

“I think it’s his [Pan’s] whole back story and why he can’t make connections and stayed away … that he felt rebuffed and replaced by his mother,” said Price. “That to me defines Peter’s emotional problem, his inability to attach to people because he was so hurt as a young man.”

Further, Price says Nolan Almeida pulls it off.

“It’s gorgeous and we have a young man who can act and sing it beautifully with great insight.”

Amanda Green, daughter of original “Peter Pan” lyricist Adolph Green, contributed, “We Hate Those Kids,” a curtain raiser featuring the pirates and “Friends Forever” to replace “Ugg-A-Wugg.”

Originally directed and choreographed by Broadway legend Jerome Robbins, this new production has fresh choreography by Lorin Latarro.

“It’s all completely new and it’s all hers … the dance arrangements are not borrowed from anything,” assured Price.

Family Nights

On May 7 and 8, the Arsht Center is hosting two special family nights, inviting all lost boys, fairies, dreamers and pirates to its “This Way to Neverland” pre-show experience starting at 6:30 p.m.

There will be themed stations and dazzling craft tables for kids to find their way through Fairy Hollow, Pirates Cove and Crocodile Creek. It’s all free with purchased tickets.

Come in costume for even more swashbuckling fun!

Tickets to “Peter Pan” range from $25-$140 and are available online at arshtcenter.org or by calling the box office at 305.9496.722.