We all know the Disney story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up, leader of the Lost Boys, and resident of Never Never Land.  And with knowing the story so well, it’s difficult to imagine the magic of Peter Pan coming to life on a live stage, yet The Children’s Theater of Minneapolis manages the impossible.

As Tyler Michaels, playing the marvelous Peter Pan, entered from the sky and taught young Wendy, Michael and John how to fly, it was hard to suppress the childish excitement that bubbles up in the audience.
Though Peter Pan sends a lovely, enchanting image into children’s minds, one of storytelling, flying, and staying a child forever, there is an inappropriate and unacceptable representation of Native Americans in the original Broadway script of the show.  In the press release, The Children’s Theater wrote, “In order to address these issues and work collaboratively towards a more respectful representation, CTC initiated a series of conversations with local and national Native artists and educators… which revealed the depth of harmful and problematic elements in the original material.”
“CTC presented a revised script to the license holders which stripped all references to a Native tribe, and instead replaced them with a strong group of young women, now called Tiger Lily’s Pounce. The changes were approved,” continued the press release.

There efforts were successful.  The show presented Tiger Lily’s tribe positively and turned them into allies of the Lost Boys.  Tiger Lily herself saved Peter’s life.

Representing South in this exciting production was sophomore Ethan Davenport who has done multiple shows with CTC including Pippi Longstocking, Charlotte’s Web and most recently, Shrek the Musical.  Davenport plays one of the Lost Boys and is especially helpful when lifting the lively fourth grader Alejandro Vega into crazy stunts.

The show ended with a well deserved standing ovation and little kids scrambling to the orchestra pit to admire the action of partaking in a play and wave at the people they knew.

Though Peter Pan is, naturally, a children’s story, the show was one that anyone at any age would easily enjoy.  The Children’s Theater has created yet another wonderful show that almost convinces even high schoolers to believe in magic.