'Peter Pan' soars at Carson's Brewery Arts Center

The energy was almost palpable as director Jeffry Scott stood on the stage before an audience of actors and their parents, discussing the details and fine-tuning the Brewery Arts Center's performance of "Peter Pan."

This production is the center's largest ever, due in no small part to the crew behind the scenes that constructed the $6,600 set.

The group, composed of an all-volunteer, five person crew from all walks of life, worked weekends to complete the four scenes: nursery, forest, ship and Lost Boys' home.

The set, slated to be completed today, will be moved into the Community Center on Sunday.

None professes to be carpenters, but the group has been dedicating most of their spare time to the project since early July.

"We made sure it was hot (before beginning construction)," Strekal said with a smile, adding the effort was well worth it. "I like participating in the show. It gives me a real sense of being part of the production. There is a Zen to this.

"We're dedicated theater fools," Strekal added. He doubles as a pirate in the play, and is a biologist in his other life.

"I'd never done anything like this before," volunteer Tom Corbin said. "I see these things (productions) all the time and I wanted to be part of one."

"It's the only set we've ever built from the ground up," Scott said, noting sets are usually designed in-house. This one was built from professional blueprints Scott found accidentally while surfing the Internet. A Pennsylvania-based organization, Sceno Graphics, provided 35 pages of professional working drawings for the sets which average about 12 feet high and 40 feet wide and are specifically designed for a Peter Pan production true to the period, circa 1890.

Professional scenic artist Linda Hall, together with helpers Carmine and Jana Ault, are volunteering their talents to make the plywood sets look like old wood, marble fireplaces and Victorian wallpaper. Art has been an avocation of Hall's since childhood, and she has been working for Stage Craft for 7 1/2 years.

This production is the fully-staged, original Broadway version of "Peter Pan." Scott previously directed "Ruthless ... the Musical" and "Assassins," while Marsha Hall manages the musical direction, and Gina Kaskie-Davis the choreoraphy. The Lost Boys are directed by Nathan Walker, who lives in New York but has returned to Carson City to direct the Summer Theatre Youth Camp.

Professional theater and TV actress Catherine Hearn soars in the title role of Peter Pan. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dance in London, England and resident choreographer of the Southern Arizona Light Opera Company, she has made appearances in television shows such as "Highway to Heaven," "Father Murphy," and "Little House on the Prairie."

There will be eight performances of this production at the Carson City Community Center Sept. 8-10 and 15-17. Tickets are $16 for the general public, $12 for students and seniors and $10 for BAC members and children under 10. Tickets can be purchased at the Brewery Arts Center at 449 W. King Street or can be reserved on a credit card by calling 883-1976.

If you go

What: "Peter Pan"

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 8 and 15; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 and 16; 2 p.m. on Sept. 10 and 17.

Where: Carson City Community Center

Tickets: $16 for the general public, $12 for students and seniors and $10 for BAC members and children under 10. Available at the Brewery Arts Center.

For information call: 883-1976