‘Peter and the Star Catcher’ to Close on Broadway January 20

Tony Award-winning play “Peter and the Starcatcher” will end its Broadway run January 20, 2013.

The play has played at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre since it began previews on March 28, 2012 and official opened on April 15.

“All of us involved with this show are extremely proud of its remarkable run on Broadway,” said lead producer Nancy Gibbs in a statement. “When this journey began nearly ten years ago, the path to Broadway seemed all but impossible to traverse. Well, not only did we make it, but we’ve enjoyed every unlikely and wonderful step along the way.”

That long “journey” came to Off-Broadway first in March 2011 when the play was performed at the New York Theatre Workshop. It’s run there was extended twice before it transferred to Broadway along with the entire Off-Broadway cast.

After the Broadway production closes, a U.S. national tour will begin in August 2013 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver.

The play is based on the 2006 book “Peter and the Starcatchers,” written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Rick Elice adapted the book for the stage. The story provides a back story for the character of Peter Pan, before we meet him in J.M. Barrie’s famous “Peter and Wendy.” Playbill.com describes the play as a “mix of theatrical storytelling, language and stage craft.” The production uses 12 actors to play the 50 characters in the story.

Official notes describe the play as “a journey to answer the century-old question: How did Peter Pan become The Boy Who Never Grew Up? This epic origin of one of popular culture’s most enduring and beloved characters proves that an audience’s imagination can be the most captivating place in the world.”

“Peter and the Starcatcher” was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won five, including Best Featured Actor for Christian Borie.