The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan, House Theatre of Chicago, at Viaduct Theater. Playwright James M. Barrie developed the myth of Peter Pan, the “wonderful boy” who wouldn’t grow up, from games and stories about fairies, pirates, and Indians he invented for four-year-old George Llewellyn Davies and his brothers. So the wonderful sense of play permeating this revisionist reworking of the tale is appropriate as well as engaging. In the best tradition of off-off-Loop theater, director Nathan Allen’s low-budget production celebrates the joy of make-believe with inventive visual effects, simple magic tricks, puppetry, and elaborate combat and dance sequences (including a hilarious lip-synched version of “Chain of Fools” by Wendy, Tinker Bell, and Tiger Lily). The athletic young cast tumble about the stage with an energy that’s all the more impressive considering the space isn’t air-conditioned.
