‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ Hits Theatres Nationwide August 2013

Earlier this week, producers of “Peter and the Starcatcher” announced that the play will take to the road beginning in August of next year for a national tour. The move marks the relatively rare occasion in the current economic climate that a non-musical Broadway production has decided to take its chances on a national tour.

The play is a prequel to the Peter Pan story, and opened on Broadway in April. The play began previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on March 28. Thus far, the play has been a success on Broadway, though it has not proven to be a runaway hit. And though many plays forgo the road because of uncertainty that a profit will be made, the chances of success for this play are improved by its minimal sets and low running cost.

The tour will open in Denver in August 2013 at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, and is expected to run from 35 to 50 weeks thereafter. No further details have yet been released about the schedule or casting of the tour. The current production has garnered nine Tony Award nominations, the most of any play this year.

The official website for “Peter and the Starcatcher” describes the production as, “A wildly theatrical retelling of how a miserable orphan came to be The Boy Who Never Grew Up… A dozen brilliant actors play more than 100 unforgettable characters using their enormous talent, ingenious stagecraft and the limitless possibilities of imagination.”

The play is based on the 2006 novel “Peter and the Starcatchers,” which was written by Ridley Pearson and humor columnist Dave Barry. The stage adaptation of the novel was first performed in California before moving to an Off-Broadway performance in 2011.

In other news about the play, Disney has announced that a film adaptation is now in the works. Jesse Wigutow has been named as the writer of the project.