I made a mistake on my way to Peter Pan at the Marriott Theatre. By way of introducing the story of Wendy and the Lost Boys to a carload of virgin viewers (ages three to eight), I hummed a bit of what I thought they were going to hear: a bar or two of “I’ve Gotta Crow” and the opening of “Never Never Land.” When we got there I realized I’d led them astray. What we were seeing was not, as I’d assumed, the Broadway musical, but a one-act take on J.M. Barrie’s tale by local choreographer, composer, and playwright Marc Robin, who also directed it. The kids didn’t care. They didn’t know the great music they were missing, and what was there suited them perfectly: a brisk but fully fleshed-out romp with Equity actors, a trio of musicians, and professional costumes, lighting, and special effects that included some circumscribed but satisfactory flying. Having sat through a kids’ production of the lengthy Broadway show (complete with riotous intermission) a month earlier, I had to admire the well-oiled effectiveness of this one. I wondered if Marriott had commissioned it.
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Robin’s got a few things to crow about himself. Two years ago he gave up his full-time status at Drury Lane in order to freelance. Now he’s got an opening a month for the first five months of next year, starting with Cats, which he’ll direct. He’ll also direct Snow White (at Drury Lane in February), Singin’ in the Rain (Drury Lane, March), and My Fair Lady (at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in May). He’s also choreographing A Long Gay Book, a new play directed by Frank Galati and opening in April at Northwestern University. When he sits down to write again, he says it’s likely to be something for adults. His version of Treasure Island, which he chose to shut down rather than change at Drury Lane in 1998 after some parents objected that it was too strong for kids, is now a two-act main-stage musical, to be performed at Fulton Opera next year. Back then Robin said Treasure Island was getting a bum rap: it was just a coincidence that a child in the audience vomited at a crucial moment in the plot.
